SC ranger: Hartwell now a kiddie-pool for swimmers

ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) — Anyone who’d like to take a dip in South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell may have less than a foot of water in the designated swimming areas unless rain comes over the Labor Day weekend.

Chief ranger Zach Harkness told the Anderson Independent-Mail (http://bit.ly/pP9HDx) that the lake’s swimming spots usually are six feet deep when the lake is at its full depth of 660 feet.

Harkness says swimming areas have not been closed officially. But he says boaters are being asked to proceed with caution since the lake has lost water through power generation and late-summer evaporation. It now stands at 654 feet.

The ranger says navigation hazards such as stumps, shoals and submerged trees have been marked, but boaters should all wear life jackets.

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Information from: Anderson Independent-Mail, http://www.andersonsc.com