HAPPY NEW YEAR & YES IT’S STILL LOW TIDE AT KERR

Happy and pretty dry New Year from Kerr Lake.  Kerr Lake is suffering from chronic low tide.  The lake went down in September and has remained uncustomarily low around the 294-foot level for about four months.   Normal lake level is 300 feet above mean sea level.  You can see from the attached USACE graph that the current level is below all measured “should be” levels.  In preparation for at least two hurricanes the U S Army Corps of Engineers lowered the Kerr Lake level by about six feet and there hasn’t been much rainfall in the watershed since then.

The water has been so low that grass is growing on some of the normally water-covered shore.  Some dock owners like Kerr Lake Park Watch Steering Committee member Larry Matthews are taking advantage of the low tide at Kerr.

Matthews says, “If you can stand the cold,  now is a great time to work on your dock on dry land. Took these pics of our dock today in Wilson Cove just down from Hibernia with water level at 294.3′.”

All the frustration in the world will not raise the tide in Kerr Lake.  It will take rain and lots of it.  In the meantime,  you can visit one of the open parks and you can walk farther around the shoreline than ever.

Happy New Year from the more than 580 members of Kerr Lake Park Watch!