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Name:	Lakewood -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 5:26:36 PM

As a very very occasional reader of these message boards, I'm sure I've overlooked or can't find the answer to this, but: last year they only took the lake level down to 483 feet as I recall, and it paid off well as we had decent water levels last summer. Now I see it's at 481, maybe (?) headed down to 480 again like the old days. Was the 483 drop a one-time deal? Has Ala Power decided next spring will bring high rains to refill the Lake? Is it simply that drought has not provided enough water to keep levels at 483, or that demand for lake power has been extraordinarily high? I'm sure all you guys have kept up with this and cussed and discussed it in great detail but I can't readily find where it was all talked about. Are we looking at probable low water levels next spring/summer?

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 5:44:29 PM

Was the 483 drop a one-time deal? (yes, but they are requesting that level in new license document)
Has Ala Power decided next spring will bring high rains to refill the Lake? (they don't know)
Is it simply that drought has not provided enough water to keep levels at 483, (no)
or that demand for lake power has been extraordinarily high? (no)
Are we looking at probable low water levels next spring/summer? (depends on rain)

Name:	Summer Lover -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 5:54:57 PM

Lakewood sets 'em up, you knock 'em down...

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 5:55:58 PM

Been thinking that my contribution to this forum this year has been "lacking". Making plans to change that. Any ideas?

Name:	Mack -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 6:17:18 PM

Your best contribution would be to increase mater' output. Maybe set up a drive by barter service. I drive by the mater patch, you hand me a sack of maters and I hand you a pecan pie, or a rib plate, or a mess of fish??

Name:	Lakewood -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 7:48:14 PM

So that's it? We're basically back to the old days, unless their new license provision gets approved? Any inside poop on how they managed to do it last year -- I assume they got some sort of one-off approval to stick at 483, but couldn't do it this year? somebody here used to seem really wired in to what was going on at Ala Power...

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 7:59:58 PM

Take out the "or's" and we have a deal

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 8:03:39 PM

That someone is OSMS, who posted this on 12/9/12 in response to question about level and license:

We don't know yet. FeRC was supposed to have filed their Draft environmental Assessment by Oct 8, but they are still working on it. The eA will give us FeRC's idea of what the Rule Curve should be. After they file then all the special interests will have an opportunity to comment, file suit in opposition , etc. The wonderful Corp of engineers has already asked that implementation be delayed till they update their 50year old operating manual, so the process could turn into a mess. Let's hope for the best. APCo requested a seven foot drawdown in the winter, and some, maybe, maybe plan for a fall extension of the summer pool. The HOBOs requested a five foot drawdown and an extensil of summer pool till Oct 15. Hopefully, the final rule curve will be somewhere in the middle. Oh, and GA ePD has stuck their noses into the process also.

FYI, the Coosa Relicensing process is six years past due with no end in sight.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 9:33:05 PM

Thanks, lakngulf for re-posting. My iPad sometimes screws up the capital "E's" when posting on the Forum....I don't type great, but better than that post. We are about to request from APCo and FERC an early, mid-January refill date, rather than the normal mid-February refill due to the continued Extreme Drought conditions for the entire Tallapoosa Basin. APCo had announced a 480' level this year since their weather predictions called for El Nino (rainy) conditions to begin in October, but that hasn't happened. Long range predictions call for a continuation of present conditions, which will cause real problems refilling the lake if adjustments are not made soon.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 11:44:48 PM

I am going to stir the pot some. I wouldn't mind a one time drop much lower than 480 on occasion to blow out the silted up areas at the 480 mark. Otherwise, 480 or thereabouts is fine with me if only to keep the lake from getting choked by invasive weeds that have infested so many other lakes. I don't want to swim in milfoil and hydrilla, and I am not a grass fisherman, so lower away!

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/12/2012 11:57:43 PM

LNG, you be one tough customer. lol

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/13/2012 9:17:16 AM

Remember 2007. The lake went down to 476' for a few months and the silt went with it so we have had an experience below 480' recently. Also, remember how long it took for the lake to recover, and some of the businesses never recovered. Water grasses has always come up as the reason to lower the lake, but relicensing studies proved that with the possible exception of one creek mouth with a huge buildup of silt from Alex City, it will be safe to lower the lake much less without the danger of weed growth. And, the lake will be lowered to 480' once every five years anyway, which should add additional safety.

Lake Martin enjoys the unique advantage in Alabama of having low nutrients as compared to other lakes, which reduces the chances of weed and algae growth. That's why our water is so nice and clear. We don't have a lot of industry, hog, cow, and chicken farms, row crop fertilizer run off, or municipal sewage waste dumped into the Tallapoosa River watershed.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I remember how long
Date:	12/13/2012 12:33:59 PM

it took to refill it the lake after 2007. The next spring!! Was full like always and right on the rule curve.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Don't forget
Date:	12/13/2012 3:10:01 PM

That there were NO discharges from Lake Martin dam from Nov 24, 2007 until after March 1, 2008. That variance was highly unusual, especially during the drought, but it allowed the lake to recover the next spring. There's no telling how low the lake would have gone without that variance. Don't forget, also, the lake didn't recover from 480' in the spring of 2007. It got no higher than 486' all of 2007.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	True but, Don't forget
Date:	12/13/2012 3:50:34 PM

the drawn down used to be 30 ft. and before that 50 ft. and the lake refilled every year but one that I am aware of. Plus in those days hydro was used almost exclusively to generate power. 2007 was an exceptional year. Rainfall was off significantly. It was a 100 year drought just like we have 100 year floods, as was the case in 1979 when the dam overflowed. Fact is, when it rains, it fills.

I am in favor of earlier fills and later draw downs, and even higher winter pools, but strictly for recreational and economic reasons. The ability to fill the lake has no bearing on how I feel.

Weather patterns have changed with time affecting when the rains come, but come they do, every year. It has NOTHING to do with the hoax of climate change which used to be global warming, which used to be another ice age coming. Mother Earth has been around about 450 Billion years and the only constant over those billions of years is that the climate has changed.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Your middle paragraph,
Date:	12/13/2012 6:03:53 PM

says it all.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Water level?
Date:	12/14/2012 8:25:56 AM

I would like to see one of those 30-50 foot drawdowns, if only to putt around in my jonboat with a camera taking pictures of all of the fishy areas that nobody has seen in forever so I can come back when the lake refills.
Actually, allowing for more flexibility with the rule would be better. The variance from last year worked, so make it easier to grant variances in the future. A variance might have helped some in 2007, but that was such an extreme drought that even then the lake could not have been maintained at a useful recreational level for long. On the other hand, if it is known that the winter will be unusually wet, then a lower drawdown could be useful to take advantage of the storage capacity of the lake. Of course, the federal government is never known for being fast and flexible, so who knows if proper variances could be granted in a timely fashion whenever they were needed. As for later fall drawdown dates, since late summer and fall are usually the driest time of the year, so it might not make much of a difference since there probably won't be enough rain to maintain rule levels anyway. Earlier cork dates should be dependent on rainfall. If the winter is unusually dry, start filling earlier.

Name:	CAT BOAT -	Reply
Subject:	Ardvark....
Date:	12/19/2012 8:47:04 PM

I hope your post makes the "BIG FOOT" Awards. Well said. At least from a "gaining knowledge" stand point. I have seen pictures around the Lake from long ago, and they are very interesting.

Respectfully,
Steve

Name:	CAT BOAT -	Reply
Subject:	True but, Don't forget
Date:	12/19/2012 8:49:02 PM

Lifer, how long have you lived on the lake. Just curious??????

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