KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — Days after Lake Wateree was lowered in anticipation of Hurricane Ian, that trend will continue as Duke Energy prepares to bring lake levels down six-to-seven feet below full-pond levels for over a year.
"We are actually gonna start drawing down Lake Wateree mid-October," said Ben Williamson with Duke Energy.
The plan to lower lake levels isn't traditional during the fall season but is necessary for construction work that will start in mid-November.
"What we're gonna be doing is we're installing a new type of spillway gate," Williamson said. "A spillway gate helps with our flood management control."
It comes after Duke Energy filed a new license to operate the Catawba-Wateree Project. During the relicensing project, they spoke with residents and over 70 stakeholders to decide what they felt should be included in the license. During conversations, they decided flood flow management was one of the top items. And that led to the decision to install the new spillway gate.
Williamson said he is hopeful this will help the area.
"Lake Wateree is at the very bottom of the Catawba-Wateree chain, so when you have rain events, you can't look at lakes as isolated," he said. "It's all connected - all one chain. Being at the bottom they see higher flows; so, this project will allow us to basically, well hopefully, reduce the frequency and the degree of small to moderate flood events."
"Again, for specific areas, we think it's going to benefit the entire lake," he added. "It's not just one area that will see more benefits than the others, I think it's going to be across the board."
Several long-term residents said they are OK with the low levels if it helps the area with flooding.
"The drawdown, I think, in the long run, it's gonna be good," said Steve Henderson. "It will be painful in the short term but, long term, it will be good for the lake."
"Hopefully the end of this dam project, it will benefit the lake and hopefully help with future flooding events that we see in the future," Jamie Ray said.
Duke Energy anticipates the project to last 14 to 16 months, weather permitting, and the utility is recommending those who have docks with proper permits perform maintenance activities on their structures while the water is low.
Below is a list from Duke Energy of ramps and accesses that will be open and closed during the construction.
Access areas closed:
- Buck Hill Access Area
- June Creek Access Area
- Taylors Creek Access Area
Boat ramps closed:
- Cedar Creek Boat Ramps
- Colonels Creek Boat Ramps
- Wateree Creek Boat Ramps
Access areas remaining open:
- Cedar Creek Access Area
- Colonels Creek Access Area
- Lugoff Access Area
- Molly Creek Access Area
- Wateree Creek Fishing Pier Access Area
- White Oak Creek Access Area