Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 22, 1993                   TAG: 9309220154
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-12   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Short

CLAYTOR LAKE TO BE LOWERED

The drawdown will be during Nov. 5-21.

R.B. Kilgore, Apco's Pulaski Division manager, said the water level will be 3 feet lower than recent fall drawdowns.

Boat-launching facilities may not be usable during the drawdown, he said, and boaters and others using the lake during this time should be careful.

"The lower water level may bring submerged items to the surface, and a proper lookout should be maintained," he said.

Kilgore said the additional lowering is to help the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries with its work in adding a launching ramp and courtesy dock to the Hidden Valley Cove public landing near Claytor Lake State Park.

The lower level will also allow property owners along the shoreline to clean up debris and perform maintenance on retaining walls, boat docks and other facilities.

Kilgore said Apco will start gradually reducing the lake level Nov. 1. By Nov. 5, he said, the elevation should be 1,838 feet above sea level, 8 feet below the normal elevation of 1,846 feet.

The company will begin refilling the lake Nov. 21.

Apco periodically lowers the lake to help property owners get access to the shoreline below water level. The last time this was done was last November.

Weather could alter the timing slightly, Kilgore warned.

"I hope property owners recognize that the timing of the lake lowering is subject to change should heavy rains or other emergencies make it necessary to continue normal water elevation and control," he said.