Santee Cooper begins draining Lake Busbee
Santee Cooper will started draining Lake Busbee on Thursday.
Santee Cooper will erect a safety fence and signage to limit access to the pumping operation on part of the lake's dike, which also acts as a public walking trail.
Santee Cooper spokesperson Susan Mungo said the pump would be located on the dike at the southeast section of the lake, and that the pump would be unmanned.
She said the water, which comes from the Waccamaw river, would drain into a ditch and then flow back into the Waccamaw.
It will take about 30 days to drain, after which sapling trees will be planted in the area, according to the press release.
Santee Cooper said it will work alongside biologists with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to survey the lake's fish species and relocate them to "minimize fish mortality" as Busbee drains.
During the initial announcement in December 2017, Santee Cooper officials said they would plant between 300 and 400 trees per acre in the 330-acre site. Native species being considered included Bald Cyprus and Swamp Tupelo.
The lake was once used as the cooling pond for the Grainger Generating Station. The coal-burning power plant shut down in 2012 and was demolished in 2016.
After studies showed copper and arsenic in the lake, Santee Cooper and DHEC couldn't agree on whether or not the lake was safe for humans to be around.
DHEC gave Santee Cooper three options: do more studies to determine if the lake was safe, clean up the lake or restrict human access to the site, and Santee Cooper chose to restrict access.
Santee Cooper officials said they couldn't justify making customers pay for maintaining a lake that served no purpose, and offered it to the City of Conway.
But given the the speculation about whether or not the lake was safe, the city decided not to take on ownership, and Santee Cooper announced its decision to drain the lake in December of 2017.
Christian Boschult, 843-626-0218, @TSN_Christian
This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Santee Cooper begins draining Lake Busbee."