Good Water?

With the lake currently 15' low, the first question most lake buyers ask about a property is, "Does it have good water?".  I have to admit that the term "good water" is routinely abused in most lake advertising.  I try to ask the buyer additional questions to determine what they mean by "good water" and most of the time, what they mean is  they want a dock that is floating most of the time.  That can be difficult to determine, but I have learned that when it comes to lake level, almost everyone is a self-proclaimed expert, but frequently has little data to back it up.  Luckily for us, the Corps of Engineers keeps detailed records of the lake level for every day since Hartwell Dam was completed.  I just went through the data for over 18,000 days to come up with a chart showing the number of days that the lake has been at certain levels  There are a lot of valuable conclusions to be drawn here, but two of the best are that the lake has been less than 4' low 68% of the time, and has been more than 12' low less than 5% of the time.  And remember, lake levels are typically lower in the fall and winter than they are in the spring and summer.  So don't despair  -   the data says that most lake properties should have "good water" just around the corner.

Lake Hartwell - Who Painted The Trees?

People new to Lake Hartwell frequently ask who painted the trees around the lake.  The orange stripes on the trees are marking the boundary line that separates the Corps of Engineers property surrounding the lake from the private property that individuals own.  This line, typically known as the corps line or the COE line, is very important.  The width of that line as it touches the private property determines the amount of lake frontage a property has and is important in determining dock size and dock location.  Any activity on the corps property is governed by permits.  The most common permits include dock, electricity, drinking water, improved pathway and under-brushing.

Lake Hartwell - open water

I got a road bike for Christmas this year and have been training for my first sprint triathlon in June.  I joined the Active Network and saw a post for the Death Valley Open Water Swim in Clemson on Lake Hartwell on June 12^th .  Besides the fact that I don’t like that the word “death” in the title of an “open water swim”, I haven’t graduated to these distances yet.  I won’t be participating in this one, but more advanced swimmers may want to take advantage of the opportunity.   Come spend the day at Lake Hartwell and set aside some time to find your spot on the lake.