DEALING WITH DROUGHT IN THE 3RD DISTRICT

Drought conditions at Lake Hartwell The Third District is experiencing drought conditions for the second year in a row. Oconee and Pickens Counties have already been declared in extreme drought and seven other counties are deemed in severe drought condition as of June 30, 2008. Several counties across the area are already imposing mandatory water restrictions and more counties will reevaluate their situations later this month. There are many lakes in this region and there have been warnings issued to boaters and swimmers to take extra precautions on the water this summer. Several of the lakes are as much as 10 feet lower than normal and many areas are not accessible to boaters. To stay up to date with current water conservation actions and to find other information on the status of the drought you can go to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource's climate page. There are additional links for the National Weather Service and the 2008 hurricane season on this webpage.

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