Drought conditions may soon affect Weiss Lake level

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — If you're a fisherman or skier who has been pleasantly surprised to see the water level in Weiss Lake slowly rise towards full pool a few weeks early this year, consider this story a warning that you shouldn't get too excited just yet.

Officials at Alabama Power are working to bring the reservoir to 564 ft. above sea level before the usual May 1 target date because they want to hold as much water in Weiss Lake as possible for as long as they can -- while there's still water to hold.

“We have been concerned for months about the situation with the apparent drought cycle we're in,” Alabama Power spokesman Buddy Eiland told The Post Thursday. “Definitely, from last year, we're way below normal rainfall.”

Eiland said last year's drought conditions were serious enough that Alabama Power's hydroelectric generation was reduced by half this past winter to conserve water.

“While it is still very early in the month, early indications are that April hydro generation could be among the very lowest of any month in the company's history,” he said.

Eiland said Alabama Power is constantly working with the Army Corps of Engineers, which regulates lake levels, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to optimize the company's ability to generate electricity. He said the company also must work to meet the other requirements of the federal license that allows it to operate dams on rivers across the state, such as meeting minimum flows for recreational use.

Eiland said state climatologists have predicted the likelihood of a continuing drought situation for Alabama again in 2007.

(Another source familiar with TVA operations said the federally-managed energy is claiming the Tennessee valley just had its driest December-to-February in 117 years.)

Eiland said Alabama Power relies on coal-fired and nuclear-powered plants to generate the bulk of the electricity it provides. He said the company turns to hydroelectric power mainly during “peak” times such as the early evening hours on hot, summer days when people return home from work and crank up their air conditioners, as well as other peak times of usage by customers.

“But with these drought conditions, we expect to have very little water flow to work with so we are now trying to conserve as much water as we can,” he said. “When we don't have hydroelectric power to draw from, we have to draw from more expensive sources.”

County 10-12 inches below normal

Hydrologist Roger McNeil of the National Weather Service in Birmingham said uncertainty about rainfall amounts in the months ahead is cause for concern for any company or business that relies on river flows for financial success.

“There are extremely low flows in the streams that feed these reservoirs right now,” McNeil said.

McNeil said the Cherokee County area is probably 10-12 inches below normal rainfall levels since January 1. As a result of those low numbers, he said, a lot of the rain that does fall in the springtime is captured by the root systems of budding flowers and blooming trees instead of flowing into nearby rivers and streams.

“We're not in a dire situation yet,” McNeil said. “But we need a steady supply of significant rainfall events -- rainfall that generates 1-2 inches at a time -- to turn this situation around.”

Eiland said Alabama Power generates an annual “hydro budget” based on past experience, but admitted those numbers are likely to fall short this year if those “significant” rainfall events don't materialize.

“Fortunately, we have a diverse fuel mix which makes other generation sources available to us besides hydro,” he said. “We'll be working hard to try and balance all those uses.”

Eiland stopped short of offering predictions of what Weiss Lake may look like three months from now. But he said the company is optimistic that it can bring the reservoir to full-pool well ahead of May 1, which will create as many options as possible for maintaining an adequate water level in Weiss during the summer months.

“We will probably curtail our hydroelectric generation as much as we can, but that doesn't mean we won't have to use some of the water we're storing in Weiss,” he said. “But there are other advantages to having our lakes at full-pool besides power generation, and we certainly recognize that.”

Eiland said Alabama Power understands that Weiss Lake is a valuable economic tool for the Cherokee County area. He said officials work hard to balance all interests concerned in the operation of the company's reservoirs, including recreational uses.

Ultimately, though, Alabama Power is in the business of electricity. And the amount of water that falls into the Coosa River watershed is the one factor affecting the water level in Weiss Lake that the company cannot control.

“Rainfall would help the situation tremendously,” Eiland said. “But the forecasters are not predicting much of that right now.”