HIGH WATER LEVEL AT KERR MAY DAMPEN MEMORIAL ACTIVITIES
Kerr Lake Park Watch has issued a HIGH WATER NOTICE for Memorial Day Weekend. Several KLPW members constantly monitor the water level of Kerr Lake which is measured hourly by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The normal “full pool” level is 300 feet. That means that the lake level is 300 feet above mean sea level.
KLPW member Larry Matthews is one of those who has kept a sharp eye on the water level for years. “I monitor the lake level every morning and my wife will tell you that I’m anal about it,” said Matthews.
Matthews pointed out that the lake has risen over six (6) feet since last Thursday (5/15/14). He added, “There’s a lot of the public areas at Hibernia for camping and picnicking that are pretty much totally underwater, mostly due to last Thursday’s monsoons.”
Matthews is referring to heavy rains that moved into the Kerr Lake area last Thursday and dumped multiple inches of rain into the lake and widely over the lake’s watershed. Matthews recorded a lake level of 306.94 this morning and at 10:00 PM the lake level was 306.76.
Matthews offered Memorial Day weekend visitors and campers some pre-checking advice, “If you are planning on camping this weekend at Kerr Lake, especially on sites around the water, you better check with your respective park reservation system or park officials about the availability of your campsite.”
Kerr Lake’s high water level comes at a particularly bad time as Memorial Day Weekend is an unofficial kick off to all things water and outdoors at the lake. The Memorial Day holiday, July Fourth, and Labor Day are the three highest attendance weekends out of every year. Traditionally, most parks book every campsite, picnic shelter and facilities on those three holidays.
Kerr Lake Park Watch has sent the three agencies responsible for camping on the lake request for information in order to ascertain how many sites may removed from the camping inventory due to flooding.