SCE&G closing Lake Murray flood gate as water levels near downstream homes recede

After opening a Lake Murray floodgate for the second time in two days Friday, SCE&G began incrementally closing the opened spill gate at the Saluda Hydro facility Saturday morning.

Inflows into Lake Murray from the Upstate slowed overnight Friday and into Saturday morning.

That allowed the utility to slowly shut off the flow of some 18,000 cubic feet of water per second that was being released from Lake Murray into the Saluda River to stabilize water levels in the lake. High inflows from upstream reservoirs and tributaries had caused the lake to swell.

The opened floodgate caused worry Friday for residents living downstream, particularly those in the low-lying Pine Glen subdivision that was devastated by October’s flooding. Water began creeping into residents’ backyards, toward their homes, soon after the spill gate was opened at noon Friday, residents said.

By about 4 a.m. Saturday, water levels near those homes began steadily receding and were not expected to rise again as long as lake levels remained stable, Irmo fire chief Mike Sonefield said.

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 5:01 PM.