LOGAN MARTIN LAKE — Residents are warned to secure their property with rising lake levels ahead.Manley Appleby, principal hydrological engineer for Alabama Power Company, said Wednesday Logan Martin Lake levels had already exceeded the normal summer pool level, and lake waters are expected to continue to rise.
“The spillway is open and the (Logan Martin Lake Dam) turbans are at capacity, too,” he said.
APC officials said they expect Logan Martin Lake to crest Thursday or Friday.
“It could get up to 467,” said Alan Peeples, supervisor of reservoir management for APC.
He said lake residents should take appropriate action to protect their boats and personal property along the lake.
“They need to be sure they are prepared for that rise,” Peeples said.
APC considered asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a variance to raise the Logan Martin Lake level 2 feet above winter pool, or 462 feet above sea level, but has since decided to drop its request.
“We’re following normal flood procedures at this time,” Peeples said. “We may end up going to them later, but right now we’re seeing some other events in the near future.”
He said the ground is so saturated more rain would only mean higher lake levels.
“There was a lot of water that was dumped yesterday (Tuesday),” Peeples said.
The normal winter pool for Logan Martin Lake is 460. The normal summer pool for the lake is 465 feet above sea level.
Officials still expect a drier than normal spring, but the region has received more rain than projected this winter.
Peeples said north Georgia, where Carters and Allatoona lakes are located, also received a considerable amount of rain Tuesday. Those lakes are the headwaters of the Coosa River and feed water downstream to APC projects.
“They forecast a warmer, drier winter, but they were wrong, thank God,” said Lisa Coghlan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District.
She said Wednesday the Corps projects in North Georgia saw significant rainfall.
“A significant rainfall event has moved through the ACT basin over the past couple of days,” she said.
Coghlan said Lake Allatoona saw a 5 foot rise in its lake level and could see an additional 7 feet of water when the lake level peaks this weekend.
“We’re currently in flood control operation,” she said. “Three to 5 inches of rain fell in our upper ACT project watersheds. Another smaller system is forecast for late this weekend.”
Coghlan said Carters Lake is presently at 1,080 feet above sea level, and the normal winter pool level for Carters Lake is 1,071 feet above sea level.
She said Lake Allatoona will be drawn down to provide flood storage.
“The projects are functioning as they should,” Coghlan said, adding that the combined releases from Carters and Allatoona have averaged 1,250 cfs (cubic fee per second) during the past week.
Patrice Posey, assistant director for the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, said Wednesday there was also widespread flooding in St. Clair County Tuesday.
She said trees were reported uprooted because of ground saturation.
Larry St. John, part-owner of Katie’s Kove Camp in Ragland, said they worked until 9 p.m. Tuesday moving trailers in their campground to higher ground.
“We got most of them out,” he said. “We did all we could do.”
He said the flooding was expected, but 3 or 4 trailers remain on the campground.
“Anytime you have this much rain this quickly, you’re going to have flooding,” St. John said.
Several roads remained closed along or near Logan Martin Lake, as with Katie’s Kove Camp, off Alabama 144.
“It’s flooded now,” St. John said. “Most of the camp is under water.”
He said this is not the worst flooding he’s seen.
“I’ve seen it worse than this several years ago,” he said. “There are still roads around here that are still flooded.”
No flooding was reported to the Talladega Emergency Management Agency.
