Santee Cooper Planning for Near-Record Spill
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MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper expects near-historic water flows coming from North Carolina and making their way downstream into Lake Marion. The utility began drawing down the lake last week to make room for incoming water and will increase the volume of spilling as those inflows are increasing.
Santee Cooper’s dams and dikes are secure, and this spill will help maintain their integrity through this period of extreme inflows. Santee Cooper System Operators expect inflows to Lake Marion to reach about 2 million gallons per second (about 280,000 cubic feet per second). As a result, Santee Cooper plans to increase the spill to a little less than 1 million gallons per second (130,000 cfs) beginning Tuesday, Oct. 1.
At that volume, there could be flooding in the Santee River floodplain as early as Thursday or Friday this week. This is a significant spill, and flooding should be expected in the same areas in Georgetown County as experienced in 2015 and 2020, when the utility also conducted major spills. Flooding will be more significant in areas closer to U.S. Highway 17. The Santee Cooper team is working with local and state authorities to manage any related issues.
Residents in the floodplain area are encouraged to remain alert and use caution in traveling through the area.
Property owners and others connected to the floodplain receive notifications any time Santee Cooper initiates or changes a spill through the Spillway. Anyone interested in getting on the notification list can send an email with your request to OperationsPlanning@santeecooper.com or call 843-761-8000 ext. 5857.
Spilling will continue until further notice, and developments will be noted on Santee Cooper’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. Information will also be updated each business day on the lake information line at 1-800-92LAKES.
