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ANDERSON COUNTY — A political statement has raised the issue of the use of drought-exposed land on Hartwell Lake.

Republican Don Bowen, who is seeking re-election in November to the District 8 seat in the South Carolina House to represent Anderson and Oconee counties, said Wednesday that he saw no problem with the placement of two of his campaign signs that supporters reportedly placed on a small mound of exposed land near the S.C. 24 bridge.

“I see them every day,” said Bowen of Anderson regarding the signs, which were on drought-exposed land. “They are small signs. I don’t see that they create any problem with safety issues.”

Citing a response from the Hartwell Lake Project Office, Jeanne Hodge, public affairs spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District, said public cooperation would save Corps resources needed to remove them.

“Signs of any type (political, business, advertising, etc.) are not allowed on public property,” Hodge said through a prepared statement.

The exposure of previously covered land by falling lake levels requires even more vigilance about safety, she said.

According to the Corps Web site, Hartwell Lake is down 11 feet from its normal level of 655.70 feet above sea level.

About an hour after his initial comments, Bowen, citing a telephone call received from Corps officials about their intent to remove both signs, said he was going to do it himself., retrieving both $35 signs for use in other locations. The signs no longer were visible at the site as of Thursday afternoon.

“I want you to know that (a reporter’s) call (to the Corps) means I’ll go out there this afternoon and take them down (and spare the Corps the expense),” he said Wednesday.

Earlier, an Independent-Mail reporter had asked a Corps official by telephone about the organization’s policy regarding use of such property for political or business statements.

Bowen said he has no plans to challenge the Corps decision about removal of the signs. He did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the wisdom of using boats or other craft on the lake to promote politicians or whether all of the lake’s drought-exposed land should be available to all political candidates or businesses.

In the initial telephone inquiry to Bowen, he said he did not know who placed his signs roughly 50 yards from the bridge, but it must have been done by supporters and someone who advocates his efforts to pass legislation to protect the lake’s level.

“There is a huge number of people working hard to resolve this water issue,” he said. “A lot support me. I think we will come up with a water governing board in the next session: one board to oversee any issues.”

According to Hodge, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not endorse any candidate running for public office.”

Tom Dobbins, Bowen’s Democratic challenger in the Nov. 4 election, declined Thursday to comment on the situation involving the signs for Bowen.