Water levels at Beltzville Lake are high enough to reopen one of the park's boat launches, officials said.

The Pine Run Boat Launch will reopen Thursday morning, according to a social media post from the Army Corps of Engineers.The boat launch has been closed since Nov. 4, when the water level dropped below the minimum of 613 feet above sea level.On Wednesday, the water level exceeded 613 feet above sea level for the first time since the boat launch closed.The water level is still not high enough for the Preacher's Camp Boat Launch, which has been closed since late September. That will be closed until the water level exceeds 623.The water level was low for two reasons - a state-declared drought warning in Carbon County, and the Delaware River Basin Commission drawing down some of the water it owns in the lake. DRBC owns 70 percent of the water in the lake for drought control purposes.Over the past few months, they have released billions of gallons from Beltzville and Berks County's Blue Marsh Lake to maintain the flow of the Delaware River at Trenton, New Jersey.The "Trenton flow objective" helps prevent salt water from the Delaware Bay from affecting water supplies in Southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia region.The basin is still in a declared drought watch. However, the flow of the Delaware at Trenton is good, DRBC spokesman Clarke Rupert said."There is not a need at the present time for releases to be made from Blue Marsh or Beltzville," Rupert said. "We hope Mother Nature will continue to provide us with a good amount of precipitation."The water level has been rising steadily since a drought-breaking rain moved into the area on Nov. 29. The lake's lowest point, before the storm, was about 610 feet, which exposed the banks of the lake, tree stumps from when the lake was built, and 'catfish boxes' that were put in to provide habitat for fish.The levels didn't come close to the lowest level recorded since the lake opened in the early 1970s. In February 1980, the water level was measured at 591 feet above sea level. In March 1983, it was measured at 588.79.