Truman Lake is normally at 706 feet above sea level. The lake was brought down in June for safety reasons so that a gate in the dam could be worked on by the Corps of Engineers. Although the Corps wanted the 706 elevation, the heat has probably contributed to the current elevation of 704.3. This level is considered to be within the normal range necessary to manage flood control, hydroelectric power generation (for Southwestern Power Administration – SWPA), fish and wildlife management and recreation at Truman Lake. However, a couple of local marinas are seeing some potential hazards to boats due to low water and boaters are encouraged to navigate with care.
Sterett Creek Marina recently emailed a letter to its slip owners advising them of the ongoing repairs to the dam gates. Boaters were told that large concrete blocks acting as anchors for docks were seriously close to the surface of the water, since the water is currently at about 9 feet. Marina personnel have placed small buoys on the anchors to alert the boaters but still encouraged caution when entering and exiting the marina from the wave break to the docks.
At Bucksaw Resort and Marina, a staff member reported that docks are halfway on the ramps, and that business has slowed down because of low water and visibility of stumps. She said that the restaurant was closed Monday through Wednesday due to lack of patrons, and reported that the Corps of Engineers had contacted her to see if the marina would suffer any damages.
A representative of Osage Bluff Marina said the water has been this low before, and bracing for the dock is still underwater. However, he said that if the water went lower things might be different.
Truman State Park Marina staff reported that everything was fine at its location and that business was good. However, Lynette Stokes, Director of Benton County Tourism and Recreation, says high gas and food prices as well as the low lake level is having an overall negative impact on tourism.
Jim Sandberg, Operations Project Manager for the Truman Project, said that everything is in the normal range for the power pool (which uses two feet of the lake water to generate electricity through SWPA.) He doesn’t expect there to be requests for releases to take place, but it may depend on the rest of the summer, and whether or not there are no other sources for hydropower.
“People are just concerned,” said Sandberg.”We are not looking at any generation that will pull us below the 704 feet above sea level, unless something like evaporation causes a drop in elevation. We are at 704.3 feet now, but at 704.0 SWPA will not be able to generate. The record low for the lake was 703.4 feet in 1981. The rain that the area had on Sunday night was good, but probably didn’t do much to raise the lake elevation. However, more rain is probable later in the week.
The Corps project will take about five months, ending in the fall. Sandberg said that there is a lot involved in this project including the continued closure of the Dam Access Road.
