The Virginian-Pilot 
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995              TAG: 9508310424
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                         LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Clarification A headline in Thursday's MetroNews section may have given the impression that a link on the Intracoastal Waterway is closed. It will not close until next week, on Wednesday. Correction published Friday, September 1, 1995. ***************************************************************** 1 LINK ON INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY IS CLOSED BECAUSE OF DROUGHT

Lack of rainfall, and low water levels in Lake Drummond and the Great Dismal Swamp will force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to temporarily shut down the boat locks in Deep Creek and in South Mills, N.C.

Both will be closed after 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Although the Dismal Swamp Canal is currently navigable, the closing of the locks cuts off its use as Route 2 of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Many recreational boaters use the canal, a scenic route lined with trees.

The locks will reopen when enough rain falls into the Lake Drummond watershed to recharge the swamp.

Boaters can still use the Intracoastal Waterway's Route 1, which goes through the Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal and passes through the Great Bridge lock in Chesapeake. That lock will continue to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the Norfolk District of the Army Corps of Engineers.

In an agreement between the corps and the Virginia Fish and Wildlife Service, water is not drawn from Lake Drummond to recharge the canal when water levels fall below 3.6 feet.

Each time the lock opens, about 1 million gallons of water is lost.

``We need a consistent rain to help us bring the water level back up in the canal,'' said corps spokesman Bill Brown. ILLUSTRATION: Staff Map

by CNB