Lake Cumberland Fact and Fiction

Lake Cumberland Fact and Fiction -- Dated Information -- As of February 15, 2007

The Lake is OPEN FOR BUSINESS... There is plenty of water in the lake to have fun on. There is still 35,000 Acres of lake making Cumberland the 3rd Largest Lake behind Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lakes.. and still the largest lake by VOLUME in the Eastern United States.

Here are the facts surrounding the current situation at Lake Cumberland. This article is in response to posts on the discussion forum, articles in the Courier Journal and the Lexington Media.

1. None of the reports states that the lowering of Lake Cumberland to 650 is in fact going to happen, or imminent. The information was divulged, posted, or reported as a "Possibility".

Why would this be done?
The reason for divulging, informing, or reporting this information is to make it clear that the situation
could get worse before it gets better.
Will it get worse is speculation.

Benjy Kinman Director of Fisheries for the State of Kentucky Talks about the Trophy Rainbow Trout Fishery below the Dam and the Striper and Walleye Fishery in Lake Cumberland.

The facts are that the lake is going to be held at 680 for now. SHOULD the work that is going on not accomplish its goal by summer, then the lake might have to be drawn down. Rather than allow people to be caught off guard the Corps of Engineers is letting people know that it is a possibility and that steps need to be taken to prepare for this by communities.

IN reading the CJ and other reports there is NOTHING NEW in these reports. The "POSSIBILITY" exists that the lake "COULD" be lowered another 30 feet. Stop feeding the media frenzy by speculating on what will happen. WE KNOW what will happen and panic is NOT necessary at this point.

None of this is new. This is the NEWS MEDIA playing its usual game making a big story where there is NONE currently. The lake is at 680 and is slated to stay there UNLESS there are "NEW" developments. the Media is taking cautionary information and treating it like it is fact NOW. There is a PDF file on the net posted by the COE that says it could go as low as 610. It was posted on January 7th.. and was up before the COE announced the 680 drawdown. http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/pao/issues/WOLcommo/pdf/Wolf_Creek_Dam_Interim_Risk_%20Reduction_%20Measures.pdf

We will not know for a couple of months if the drawdown another 30 feet is necessary.

THIS is a WORST CASE SCENARIO. Yes we need to be ready and to get things in line, BUT right now with the current situation 680 is going to be what we live with. The lake is still going to be more than 30,000 acres, making it second only to Kentucky Lake.. This was stated in Mid January by the COE, and reinforced today on the phone by Fish and Wildlife. The meeting yesterday was to get people on board for the "Possibility" that the lake could go lower, and to be prepared. At 650 the lake is STILL 18,000 acres.. larger than Barren River Lake.
IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. ( It might be for the Stripers and Trout, but it will not be the end of the world. Smallmouth, Walleye, Largemouth and panfish will be sustainable and may improve slightly.

2. Media loves to make a splash to sell newspapers, and timed advertising.
Making this front page news is their way of making money and taking advantage of the situation, in my HUMBLE OPINION. ( *Note: This is an editorial point made by the writer and is not indicative of Fishin.com, its owner, or advertisers.)
While this is information that needs to be posted and made available, it is not NEW news worthy of front page hysteria given it. (*Same note as above)

3. YES, there will be a disaster of Biblical proportions to the fishery if we go below 650. The disaster if we do NOT go below 650 will be in the proportions of 9-11 to the Nashville and Cumberland River Valley below the dam. Is there a choice? NO. The dam was built before modern technology told us there were problems with building in this location.. We are living with a situation that is exacerbated by time and technology of by gone era's. More and more as the world and science progresses we will run into these situations where we made decisions that were bad in hindsight.

4. Lake Cumberland for now is safe at 680. There will be no further draw down unless the situation deteriorates during the next few months. The COE has systems in place to keep track of the dam and its problems and for now they are happy with the way things are going. The 650 and 610 numbers being bandied about are distinct but remote possibilities we need to be ready for... NOTHING has changed since the meeting in January, or since the talks on the Strader Show with Fish and Wildlife Officials.

5. Any drawdown below 680 will not according to the plan posted in the PDF above be done until December of 2007. This will occur if the COE can not slow or stop the flow of water around the old repair. The number water level at that point most likely to be seen is 650. The reason for this is that at 610 the COE has almost no way to allow water through the dam.. plus the COE assessment ASSUMES a 5 Hour time line for the failure of the dam which is a worst case scenario. The more likely scenario would be a longer period of failure with time for small communities to be warned and for Nashville's Low lying areas to be evacuated. It would also give the COE time to work on lowering water in the lakes below Cumberland in order to slow the advance and possibly NOT over flow the dams as is assumed at 650. ( Lake Cumberland is the Largest Body of water east of the Mississippi by VOLUME. In other words the lake holds more water than Kentucky Lake, despite being smaller.) The near failure in the 60's was found, and repaired with less information than we have now.

Jim Dicken