HOT SPRINGS — Entergy Arkansas Inc. says Lake Catherine will return to its normal wintertime-drawdown level next week when repairs are complete on one of its generating facilities.
Entergy raised the level of Lake Hamilton 6 inches Saturday and again Sunday to facilitate a U.S. Coast Guard boat inspection on the lake, said Ted Smethers, senior technical support specialist for Entergy’s Hydro Operations.
Smethers said Lake Hamilton will be lowered by 6 inches Tuesday and Wednesday to return it to its normal wintertime level.
Smethers said Lake Catherine is now at the lower end of its wintertime operating range.
The decision to lower Lake Catherine that far is related to work being done onthe intake pump at the Lake Catherine gas-fired generating plant, which uses cooling water from the lake.
“They had to de-water an area in order to remove some failed equipment,” Smethers said. The work, which included the use of divers at one point, has been done by Entergy’s maintenance personnel and augmented with contractors.
The equipment has already been removed and sent out for repairs.
Smethers said the workwas not related to Remmel Dam, which separates Lake Catherine from the Ouachita River.
The wintertime drawdown on Lake Catherine was 3 feet this year, with an operating range of plus or minus 12 inches, according to information Entergy posted on its Facebook page.
As a result, the normal winter pool elevation is in the middle of the operating range, 301 feet above mean sea level, with a lower limit of 300 feet mean sea level.
In November, Entergy announced that it would lower Lake Catherine to 300.4 feet mean sea level, about a foot below its 301.4 feet mean sea level mark at the time.
“We’re at the bottom of that range, so we’re still at the 3-foot drawdown, but we’re at the lower end of our operating range,” Smethers said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 12/10/2012