CHEAT LAKE UPDATE..............September 13, 2010.
The level of the water in Cheat Lake is down to a critical level, in my opinion. It is now at approximately 867.5 feet above sea level and digressing at about 0.02 feet per day. Less than 100 cubic feet per second of water is entering the Lake from all sources, so power cannot be generated and the current Lake level cannot be maintained unless we get rain soon. The last rain this past Saturday was only about 0.1 inches.
The current Lake level is below the range for the normal summer pool height of 868 to 870 feet. There is not much water coming into the Lake and so the outflow is at the absolute minimum of 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) required by FERC. If the inflow from Preston County is adequate, the minimum outflow is normally 212 cfs. And, when electrical power is being generated, each of the four generators uses up to 2000 cfs.
If you have floating boat docks, be sure to check them periodically to ensure that the low Lake level does not cause damage to the connections. Allegheny Energy is starting today to remove the No-Wake Buoys and Day Use Boat Docks from the Lake.
At the end of October, the Lake level will be lowered substantially. During the first week of November, the Lake level will be sufficiently low that a Lake Level Indicator can be installed on the I-68 Bridge over the Lake. And, this will provide a very short opportunity for dock maintenance while the Lake level is down.
For more information and timely statistics on the Lake, please see:
_www.cheatlaketoday.com_ (http://www.cheatlaketoday.com)