Every August, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins a process called a draw down. It’s the process when the spillway gates at Grenada Lake are opened to let water out of the lake in expectation of fall and winter rains and to keep the lake at a manageable level.
Officials began the process and the lake has seen a drop down to 212.76 as of Sept. 2. The center gate was opened to nine-feet originally and now stands open at 11-foot.
“We are right on target with where we should be,” Liz Garlington, Supervisory Natural Resources Specialist at Grenada Lake, said. “We use a rule curve that says we should be at 212-feet on Sept. 1. Hopefully, we will have a normal draw down period.”
Fortunately for Grenada, the heavier rains that took place a couple of weeks ago and caused flooding in Jackson and parts of Central Mississippi, had little effect on the level of Grenada Lake.
Garlington said Conservation Pool for the lake is 193-feet, which helps the lake deal with heavy winter and spring rains that may hit. One year ago, the lake stood at 221.33. The record level for the lake is 237.30 back on May 29, 1991. The lake went over the emergency spillway flood stage of 231-feet, both in 2019 and 2020.
The draw down will help with the upcoming crappie tournaments scheduled for the lake. The American Crappie Trail will have a tournament Sept. 9-10, while the Crappie Masters National Championship comes to town Sept. 23-24. A normal lake level will improve the number of fish.
“With more water, the fish have more places to hide,” Will Clark, who serves as National Resources and Program Manager, said.
The draw down lasts until March 1.
