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I took another look at the Corps of Engineers sites for Falls, Jordan and Kerr to see how things were going after the recent rain.
Falls:
Latest level is 243.18, which is up from a Dec 25 low of 241.52 (normal pool is 251.5). Looks like the benefit from the rain at the end of December has already made it into the lake and the inflow is stabilizing. You have to go back to Nov 17 for the last time we were at 243.18. Outflow at the dam has been fixed at 55cf/s since Nov 22. Raleigh water supply draw averages around 60cf/s.
Jordan:
Latest level is 213.90, up from a recent low was 211.56 on Dec 14. The 180 day low was on October 23 at 210.21, but we'd come up a bit since then (normal pool is 216). The last time we saw 213.90 was the 14th of August. Inflow is still elevated so the level will probably rise a few more inches in the next few days. Outflow at the dam has been stable around 205 cf/s since October 2. Water supply usage is about half that of Falls (~30 cf/s).
I had never really noticed how much more pressure there is on Falls from the water supply, and then its exaggerated by the difference in water supply size - Falls is about 60% the size of Jordan in acre-feet of water at normal pool.
Kerr:
Kerr is a different animal entirely. The data is presented differently and the dam is managed differently as a hydroelectric power source. It looks like they let water through for 3 or 4 days then take a day or two or three off - presumably generating power then storing. Normal pool is 300, current lake level is right around 296, and the recent low was in October at 293.5 (I could only find 120 days of recent history).
You can root around the data here: http://epec.saw.usace.army.mil/neuse.htm
Falls:
Latest level is 243.18, which is up from a Dec 25 low of 241.52 (normal pool is 251.5). Looks like the benefit from the rain at the end of December has already made it into the lake and the inflow is stabilizing. You have to go back to Nov 17 for the last time we were at 243.18. Outflow at the dam has been fixed at 55cf/s since Nov 22. Raleigh water supply draw averages around 60cf/s.
Jordan:
Latest level is 213.90, up from a recent low was 211.56 on Dec 14. The 180 day low was on October 23 at 210.21, but we'd come up a bit since then (normal pool is 216). The last time we saw 213.90 was the 14th of August. Inflow is still elevated so the level will probably rise a few more inches in the next few days. Outflow at the dam has been stable around 205 cf/s since October 2. Water supply usage is about half that of Falls (~30 cf/s).
I had never really noticed how much more pressure there is on Falls from the water supply, and then its exaggerated by the difference in water supply size - Falls is about 60% the size of Jordan in acre-feet of water at normal pool.
Kerr:
Kerr is a different animal entirely. The data is presented differently and the dam is managed differently as a hydroelectric power source. It looks like they let water through for 3 or 4 days then take a day or two or three off - presumably generating power then storing. Normal pool is 300, current lake level is right around 296, and the recent low was in October at 293.5 (I could only find 120 days of recent history).
You can root around the data here: http://epec.saw.usace.army.mil/neuse.htm
