Save Our Lakes Now has repeatedly pleaded with the Corps to drop release rates to 3600cfs when lake levels can no longer be held at full pool. The Corps adamantly refuses to do so and we repeatedly dive into devastating drops in lake levels that destroy the recreational infrastructure of our lakes. When pressed on why they refuse, the rational comes down to meeting power quotas. The Corps has stated repeatedly that there is no detrimental environmental impact from reducing releases to 3600 which leaves power production as the only variable they are protecting.
When you look at the logic of refusing to drop to 3600cfs at the beginning of a drought rather than wait until the lakes are already down more than 4', it really doesn't make sense. The reason often given is they don't want the river to have to sustain release rates as low as 3600cfs any longer than necessary and they want to generate as much power as possible. But they are actually extending the length of time at 3600 because the lakes end up much lower in level at the end of the drought which means it takes longer for them to refill.
It is obvious the current drought plan is a failure. It is also obvious we can go to 3600cfs much quicker than the plan calls for. Why then does the Corps insist on continuing to follow a failed plan. It has been suggested that the Corps has to follow the water manual. But surely the Corps would have no problem convincing the powers that be to modify the plan based on what we've learned over the past 15 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment