Author: U S Government Accountability Office (G

Publisher: BiblioGov

Published: 2013-06

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 9781289144906

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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army Corps of Engineers' management of the Hartwell, Russell, and Thurmond reservoirs in Georgia and South Carolina, focusing on the: (1) Corps' management of the reservoirs during the 1988 drought; (2) drought's effect on the reservoirs' ability to serve users; and (3) Corps' efforts to develop a drought contingency plan for the reservoirs. GAO found that: (1) the Corps reduced releases from Lake Thurmond beginning in November 1987 and has maintained a constant release rate of 3,600 cubic feet per second since April 1988; (2) the levels of Lakes Thurmond and Hartwell were significantly affected by the drought; (3) the Corps gave water supply and quality maintenance the highest priority during the drought; (4) drought conditions severely curtailed recreational and hydropower uses of the reservoirs; and (5) the Corps was unable to generate sufficient hydropower to satisfy the Southeastern Power Administration's contractual obligations. GAO also found that the Corps: (1) had not completed its drought management plan when the current drought began; (2) did not complete the plan until more than 8 years after a regulation required it and more than 3 years after the Corps' initial target date for plan completion; (3) could have better maintained lake levels had it timely completed the plan; (4) has not completed drought contingency plans for over two-thirds of its water resource projects nationwide; and (5) failed to consider downstream inflows or worst-case scenarios in its drought management plan for the Savannah River Basin.

Download or read book Water Resources written by U S Government Accountability Office (G and published by BiblioGov. This book was released on 2013-06 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army Corps of Engineers' management of the Hartwell, Russell, and Thurmond reservoirs in Georgia and South Carolina, focusing on the: (1) Corps' management of the reservoirs during the 1988 drought; (2) drought's effect on the reservoirs' ability to serve users; and (3) Corps' efforts to develop a drought contingency plan for the reservoirs. GAO found that: (1) the Corps reduced releases from Lake Thurmond beginning in November 1987 and has maintained a constant release rate of 3,600 cubic feet per second since April 1988; (2) the levels of Lakes Thurmond and Hartwell were significantly affected by the drought; (3) the Corps gave water supply and quality maintenance the highest priority during the drought; (4) drought conditions severely curtailed recreational and hydropower uses of the reservoirs; and (5) the Corps was unable to generate sufficient hydropower to satisfy the Southeastern Power Administration's contractual obligations. GAO also found that the Corps: (1) had not completed its drought management plan when the current drought began; (2) did not complete the plan until more than 8 years after a regulation required it and more than 3 years after the Corps' initial target date for plan completion; (3) could have better maintained lake levels had it timely completed the plan; (4) has not completed drought contingency plans for over two-thirds of its water resource projects nationwide; and (5) failed to consider downstream inflows or worst-case scenarios in its drought management plan for the Savannah River Basin.