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This may not be relevent to 70% of the people on this board, but I was unable to attend the meeting at Green River Adventures several weeks ago concerning the water debacle on the Green and had some thoughts I'd like to share. First off, this is concerning scheduled releases relative to holding the water back during the mid-week and releasing 7am-? on weekends.
All user-groups with interests on the Green are looking to reach the same goal, water. Trout Unlimited has no problem with the Green running 100% during the day starting at 7am because the quality of fishing on the Green isn't high enough for them to prioritize it as a major fishing gem. Plus, they do their fishing in the morning, and having the water turned off until 7 really won't effect them much. Local homeowners and businesses are all about having water to support whatever recreation/financial interests they have in the area.
So that is two of the three user groups which have no problem with kayakers talking to Duke Power about more scheduled releases. Funny enough, it seems theres some debate within our own small community about this. There's the "old school" who is opposed to this issue because they feel it will make the Green unsafe and overcrowded. This seems mostly to be driven by arrogance and ignorance. Then there is the "new school" who is all about holding water back and knowing it will run on the weekends. This is driven more on a desire to go kayaking and have fun.
Kayakers need to come together on this issue. We are in a drought year, and Duke Power seems to be in a transition with the powerhouse. If we don't do anything, we'll probably have a lot of 60% 12-12 releases which aren't really desirable for the kayaking community; and, the manufacturers are hating it because their warrenty count will skyrocket. The Green will never be the Ocoee, and is still a class V creek. Choosing to release during the week to keep "ferners" out is only hurting our cause. Duke power doesn't care about localism or the badasses of the green, nor does Polk County or the Town of Saluda. They see in $$$ and if having a lot of people come into their county and spend money on the weekends because the green is running, they are stoked. Hopefully we can all get together and kick this little bout of "surferism" we seemed to have caught and get some releases on the green.
For the record, i go to school in Brevard, but currently live in McCaysville Ga for the summer. Thus, I am not a Green local. I would love if the Green ran on weekends so I could go paddle.
Will |
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Thoughts on the Green River "debate" New 
BoaterTalk 
