http://pub5.ezboard.com/fyourdontimebomb2000.showMessage?topicID=18596.topic

In particular, there is a comment by one of the posters that one of the reasons the water behind the hydroelectric dams is so low is that the dams were run at full capacity at rollover to provide more flexibility elsewhere in the system (e.g., to fix problems), and that the low water levels never replenished.

-- Anonymous, December 22, 2000

Answers

One more point to ponder. Last year at
rollover, one of the things that the power
companies did was to run the dams at full
capacity. This allowed them the time to
fix the minor problems without anyone outside
of the company knowing it was happening. This
in turn has led to lower water levels which
have not as of yet been replenished! We are
still experiencing the y2k problem, just a
ways downstream!

Just A Thought

Brooks, could you ask JAT if he has any links
to news articles that have this info? I'll do
some research in the meantime. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, December 22, 2000

Here's a related story.

Southeastern Federal Power Customers
File Lawsuit Over Water Removal

Story Filed: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 10:00 AM EST

WASHINGTON, Dec 13, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- In an effort to hold down power costs for hydroelectric customers in five states, the Southeastern Federal Power Customers Inc. (SeFPC) has filed a federal lawsuit (case number 1:00CV02975) to regulate the terms of water withdrawal from the Lake Lanier reservoir.

The reservoir has been increasingly used in the last 30 years as water supply for several Georgia cities that contracted with the Army Corps of Engineers. However, the suit contends that the Corps is allowing water removal to continue, in greater amounts, even though all contracts expired more than seven years ago. That means less water for hydropower generation and higher electricity rates for consumers. Buford Dam at Lake Lanier is part of a system that generates power for more than 4 million retail electric customers in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and Mississippi.

The suit also maintains the Corps failed to perform necessary environmental analysis required by the applicable federal statutes, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

"Hydroelectricity is the least expensive and most environmentally friendly source of power," said Pinckney Roberts, president of the SeFPC. "However, if lake levels are low, it becomes an unreliable source of electricity and we must secure more expensive sources to meet demand."

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asks for an injunction that bars the Corps from removing water without charging a fair amount to generate replacement electricity. It also asks that the Corps follow laws and regulations that limit its authority in withdrawing water -- specifically, the Flood Control Act of 1944 and the Water Supply Act of 1958.

"We are not seeking financial damages, nor do we want to completely stop the withdrawals," Roberts said. "We're simply asking that the Corps follow the law so we can continue to provide affordable, reliable public power."

Congress authorized the Buford Dam and Reservoir project at Lake Lanier in 1946 to provide hydroelectric generation, flood control and downstream water flow benefits. It did not authorize water supply as a project purpose, except as an incidental result of power generation.

In the 1970s, according to the lawsuit, the Corps permitted small water removal from Lake Lanier under contracts with the City of Cumming, Ga.; Gwinnett County, Ga.; the City of Gainesville, Ga.; and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

The removal of water greatly increased over the years, from 10,341 acre- feet per day in 1977 to 134,201 in 1999.

By 1993, all contracts to remove water had expired, yet the Corps allowed withdrawals to continue, without following the law or its own regulatory requirements.

With less hydroelectric power available, the Southeastern Power Administration had to purchase replacement electricity that cost nine times as much to generate. SEPA markets electricity from the federal dams.

Those increased costs have been passed on to the rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that buy power from SEPA.

"In the end, we're forced to pass along these additional costs to our customers," Roberts said. SeFPC is a group of 21 non-profit rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that serve customers in eight states.

Roberts said the Corps can mitigate the harm to hydropower customers by charging cities a fair amount to withdraw water -- one that equals the cost of replacement electricity -- and crediting SEPA for that amount.

In recent years, the cost of replacement electricity has exceeded $1 million annually.

"Buford Dam at Lake Lanier provides efficient, environmentally safe electricity for our cities and rural areas," Roberts said. "We're not trying to stop its use as a supply of water. We're just asking that its basic purpose is upheld as defined in Federal statutes."

Northern Light

-- Anonymous, December 22, 2000