Santee Cooper Reduces Spill at Lake Marion
MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper has begun to decrease its controlled spill out of Lake Marion, reducing it to 100,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) today.
The utility began drawing down Lake Marion last week to make room for the large volume of incoming water from North Carolina. As part of that effort, Santee Cooper increased spilling to 130,000 cfs yesterday, Oct. 1.
Santee Cooper’s dams and dikes are secure. Santee Cooper is forecasting lake levels several times a day through this period and adjusting as needed. They plan to monitor and continue tapering the spill over the next several days while maintaining lake levels in a manner that protects the integrity of the dams and dikes.
Spilling could flood the Santee River floodplain later this week, and should be expected in the same areas in Georgetown County that were affected 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.
Property owners and others connected to the flood plain receive notifications any time Santee Cooper initiates or changes a spill through the Spillway. Anyone interested in getting on the notification list can email your request to OperationsPlanning@santeecooper.com or call 843-761-8000 ext. 5857.
If you must be out in a boat, please use extreme caution, avoid the Spillway, and watch for rapid water currents. Also be on the lookout for debris that has washed into the lakes from upstream.
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.
