Hate to be blunt and argumentative but the Corps is simply not protecting recreation on the three lakes of the Savannah River Basin. I could blame the commander but this has been true for all the Colonels as far back as I can remember. Recreation is an obligation assigned the Corps by congress over 25 years ago. It includes homes built around the shore line, boat docks for people living at the lake, marinas for people living elsewhere who want to leave their boats here , boat ramps for temporary access, restaurants accessible by water, and campgrounds, motels and hotels for people coming for a short or extended getaway. Ask the corps what recreation is and they will deny all these. Basically, so far as recreation is concerned, the Corps of Engineers has proved to be totally incompetent.
The Corps is also guilty of doing damage to both downstream and lake stakeholders at the same time. Any time the Savannah River is swollen from heavy rains below lake Thurmond and the lakes are in drought condition the Corps should be decreasing or stopping releases until the river returns to normal flows. Rather than decreasing or stopping releases at these times the Corps demonstrates it's incompetence and continues the current release rate. This not only floods people downstream but it also drops lake levels unnecessarily thereby multiplying the damages to recreation caused by drought.
For anyone who may doubt this analysis simply look at all the droughts since 2000 and ask yourself what are the criteria used by the Corps to decide release rates during a drought. You will find hydro power, water quality, water supply, fish and wildlife, and flood control as concerns voiced by the corps to justify their release rates and winter drawdown. You will not find any instance where release rates or drawdown were modified to protect recreation.
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