Because of all of the heavy rainfall we had in 2009, including spring AND fall floods, Greers Ferry Lake is being drawn down to normal level. This is happening now, when crops are hopefully "in" - and before more rains occur. So yesterday morning at 8:00, the horn blew at the dam, and two gates were opened. This morning around 10:15, the roar increased, and we looked up and FOUR gates were open! The gates have been opened for a few minutes about three times since we moved to the bluff, but never for very long. However, these are scheduled to be open - to some extent - for as much as a month, according to some information. The Corps of Engineers closely monitors the lake level, and the officials have a goal in mind for a suitable lake level, so they will know how long it will take to attain that. Several swim/launching/camping areas are presently under water, so I'm thinking it might take several weeks, at least, to drain down that much water. Meanwhile, I noticed on Facebook that several who live along the river are mighty unhappy and not excited about potential flooding in their direction - or at least an increase in the water level.
At any rate, it's made for some exciting photos on our end. This morning we went down to the power house and took some up closer and over to the JFK overlook for a few. Greg even shot some video. Greg's mother, Elaine, went with us. There are still two gates to go - will they open, too?!
