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	Name:	LifeTime Laker -
	Subject:	Since you asked 8
	Date:	11/5/2007 6:39:13 PM

Stirrin' the puddin' is just a hobby, and you know how it is, sometimes life just keeps you too busy to enjoy your hobbies as much as you would like.

I will try to explain. I think the problem is nomenclature. When we say 'put the plug in', most folks take that literally. Like it is the same as putting the plug in a sink drain. It is not. The term, as it applies here, simply means the date to start raising the level. What APCO has proposed is that in November they start to rasie the level back up. This will be done by cutting downstream flows (now that the dredging is done). They have asked to bring the lake to 483. This will de done by holding any rainfall along with cutting the outflow. Once the lake reaches 483 it will be held there until January 15th. At that time they will continue to hold more water back on a 'curve' until April 1st. It will be basically the same number af days, but start a month early and only have to raise 7 feet, instead of the typical 10. Computer models using rainfall data from the last 2 years show this is very feasable.

Every spring there is MUCH more rain that falls than is needed to fill the lake, but it is not all held back. Most of it passes through and is used to generate power, or simply sent downstream. This is because of the 'rule curve'. The rule curve only allows the lake to be raised so much on any given day. If all rain that falls was held back the lake could fill with just one or two rain events each year. A storm that dumps 5-6 inches of rain could raise the lake several FEET. This is NOT allowed to happen. It is raised on a predictable timeline. Trust me, you want it this way. What if you left your boats tied your pier, and three days later the level was 3 feet higher? Not a pretty sight. Also, if the lake was allowed to fill with the first couple of rains the flood control aspect goes out the window in later spring. Tallassee would get washed away eventually. Flood control will be the biggest deciding factor in a permanent raising of the winter level.

Maybe seeing it in numbers will help some folks. Lets assume that APCO gets the approval for the temporary plan. I can't speak on specifics of getting to the 483. By that I mean what time line, but lets say they do. It is now January 15th. and they have to raise the lake 7ft by April 1st. That is say 75 days. The seven feet is 84 inches. So 84/75 = 1.12 inches a day that the lake will be raised. Now that is not ABSOLUTE. A good rain may come and they may raise it 2-4 inches in a day, but in the next coming days they may not raise but 1/2 an inch a day.

I hope this helps. The main thing is to remember that it is not like filling a bathtub. Theoretically it could be, but it is NOT. The lake is filled in a controlled manner with only slight variances allowed for 'local weather'.