Lake Resident Update from CEO, Guy Boyle

Dear Neighbors,

It has been about four weeks since my last update letter and almost three months since Hurricane Helene moved through our area on September 27.  As we head into the final days of 2024, I wanted to provide you with a year-end update related to on-going work around the reservoirs.  We have removed or have permitted a significant amount of timber to be removed that was identified as a safety and/or navigational concern at various locations around the reservoirs.    

As a reminder, please remember that in my November communication we amended our initial communication regarding trees around the reservoirs. As of my November update, if a tree had fallen on Spartanburg Water property and was lying on the ground due to the effects of the storm, you were welcome to remove it without a permit.

If a tree was standing, leaning, uprooting, or damaged in any way on Spartanburg Water property, you would need to fill out a land permit application and submit the application to the Spartanburg Water Watershed staff for review.

Applications are available on our website at https://www.spartanburgwater.org/land-permits and at our Lake Bowen Office. Completed applications may  be submitted by e-mail to our Chief Warden at,  jonmorgan@spartanburgwater.org at our Lake Bowen Wardens’ Office located at 8515 Hwy. 9, or in the drop box installed at the front gate to Lake Blalock Park.  

Lake Blalock Park  

The award of a sealed bid for tree removal and mulching was awarded for work to be completed inside of Lake Blalock Park. Work is expected to start January 6, 2025, and will take approximately 6-8 weeks to complete, weather permitting.  Back in November, I informed the public that the park would remain closed until we were able to fully remedy all of the damage and safety concerns within the park.  Our goal at this time is to have the park re-opened to the public by the end of February 2025. The rebuilding and replacement of the Wardens’ docks should also be completed over the next few weeks.  

Riparian Buffer

We will continue to assess the riparian buffer areas of Lake Bowen Reservoir, Lake Blalock Reservoir and Municipal Reservoir #1 that were hit the hardest over the coming months to determine if further action for remediation is warranted.      

Lake Levels

We began lowering lake levels in early November to give property owners an extended period of time to assess and complete repairs.  The goal was to lower Lake Bowen and Lake Blalock approximately 2.5’ 3.0’. We were successful in meeting this goal at Lake Blalock, but Lake Bowen has remained close to full pool due to weather.  We will continue to manage Lake Bowen with a goal to drop the water level approximately 2.5’ before starting to raise levels around March 2025, weather conditions permitting.  

Infrastructure Performed Well

Due to the record setting amount of water flow that occurred during the storm over all three of our major dam structures across a very short period of time, we took the initiative to remain pro-active and intentional, and had a post-storm inspection completed on all three dams.  The inspection was completed by a global engineering firm who provided a qualified assessment on all three dams and confirmed that all three dams “appear to have performed adequately with no observable defect due to Hurricane Helene.”   Our staff remain steadfast on our mission to be intention and focused on safety in everything we do when it comes to providing services to our community.    

We understand that this storm and resulting damage have been a point of stress for many. But, with our collective, ongoing support and collaboration we hope to continue making progress in the coming weeks.  Please feel free to reach out directly to our Chief Lake Warden, Jon Morgan, with questions you may have regarding any of the topics in this letter.  Jon can be reached at (864) 809-1295.  

Thank you for your continued support.

Most sincerely,
Guy Boyle
Chief Executive Officer

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