Lake Lanier

[Benny]

What is the real situation in Lake Lanier?

I hear from some that because of low water levels businesses are faltering and the drinking water supply is at emergency level. That the blame for the crisis results from the releasing of water to Alabama and Florida. Others say the levels are not that low and that the lake has reached those levels in years past. They claim the complaints are mostly from businesses and individuals whose interest in the lake levels arises from the entertaiment value it provides. They say creating histeria is a tactict to pressure the local govergnment into action. There is another group that blames poor planning, developers and politicians for the problems. I believe that as in every agument the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. That would transalate to a serious not yet critical water levels. Unfortunately the entertainment value of the lake is secondary. Politicians on both sides of the issues will posture for the benefit of their constituents but with no serious intent. The Federal Goverment is far from perfect but I do not think they could afford to permit a situation where the economy of Georgia or the well being of their citizens was seriously threatend. Continued draught will dictate what will happen.

 

[abe]

How about a disalination plant on the coast....

Wow what a novel idea. Third world countries....Tijuana, Mexico can have one. And if we can channel water from NCalifornia to S.California so why not build a plant and pump the water to the lake or river. Same thing happened in California a few years ago and we almost paid to have a disalination plant across the border because the coastal commission would not permit it (environmental laws/coastal commission). Now we have more water so nobody talks about it....untill the next crisis occurs.The only question I have....why such a big deal with saving everything down stream. If it weren't for the dam everything would be dried up anyway.As someone previously mentioned...the dam is serving its purpose.abe

 

[MoonSailer]

Water Rights Law

Water rights law is not so much in the news in the eastbut it is a big dealout west. Almost all of the water in any river is promised to someone and the promises are usually more than the rivercan provide. Almost every major dam agrees to minimum flows before the dam is even built. No one cares when it is wet the minimum flows are only important when it is dry. Los Angeles and Las Vegas think that they have a god given right to all of the water. Los Angeles even went to Owens valley and now pumps the entire river into their water system. Las Vegas is trying to do the same thing to another smaller community. Atlanta is wanting to follow their example and take what they want and let everyone else do without. This situation will only get worse as Atlanta keeps on growing. The Chatahoochie is not the only river in the state. The problem is not Georgias lack of water it is the fact that it costs to pump water up hill and Atlanta is relatively high. If Atlanta wanted to pump water uphill from it's coastal river there would be no water shortage in the Chattahoochie river basin.

 

[Bob]

Pray For Rain Day!!

Ironic isn't it; the Governor picks the one day that is forecasted for a chance of rain, for the official government sanctioned, "Pray for Rain Day", inGeorgia. Desparate measures for desparate times? My visit to Lanier this past weekend showed more exposed concrete blocks that support the cables that support the docks. Another 1.2 feet lower and going down!The Corps claims that their is plenty of water in the reserve pool to supply Atlanta and points south for many months to come, but the coves where many of the marina are located continue to bleed out slowly. Marina's are on the sides of the bathtub, and the bathtub water is slowly draining. Somewhere in a government or private laboratory a few biologists are evaluating the amount of flowing fresh water needed to keep a species of Bay Sturgeon and Mussels alive and thriving. This is a dream project for any marine biologist, limnologist or fisheries biologist. As a marine biology major in college, I wished it were me! The findings will determine the amount of flow reduction that will be allowed by the Corps. The results should be provided shortly and flow can be reduced by up to 16%. That buys time and still allows the Chattahoochee to feed the needs to the south including our endangered species. The finger pointing will continue and everyone can blame poor planing, failing to pump water uphill over 300 miles, increasing populations and of course endangered and threatened species. A real cluster, heh?!For me though , everytime I see another foot of water gone and more red clay exposed along the shore line, I can only wonder after eight boats and 30 years of sailing on Lake Lanier, can this really be happening? Bob

 

[John5961]

Some more facts

Metro Atlanta and much of Georgia is under state enforced water restrictions. No car washing, no pressure washing your house, no lawn watering. Violators can have their water turned off and be fined up to a thousand dollars (for third offense). Landscape businesses are laying off people and/or closing their doors. Car Dealers cannot wash the cars on their lots. Commercial car washes cannot stay open unless they can prove that they recycle their water. Motels and hotels are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace all of their toilets and shower heads with low flow. Some counties have placed limits on the amount of water homes can use. Exceed the abitrary max and you pay a surcharge per x number of gallons. Resturants are not serving water with meals. Say what you want about the recreation aspects, but thousands of people rely on the recreation industy created by Lake Lanier. Most of them are now out of work or will be soon. I cannot even take my boat out and ship it to the coast like I was considering since all of the ramps are unusable for large boats and the boat lift at Aqualand is closed (only 3 feet of water in the lift well). Someone said Atlanta should stop the development. Alabama and Florida are not suffering at all. Why should the whole burden be on Georgia?

 

[biorapper]

Makes sense [unfortunately] Bob!

smart political move that most won't correlate...they will want to believe that their prayers were heard by a merciful (what a joke that is!) god(s). Just like constantine did around 300 a.d. A chess like political ploy move for future power...but constantine's turned a cult into a religion!

 

[JungleJetJock]

I'm worried

Coca-Cola is an Atlanta based company. With out water you cannot make Coke. What will I do without a coke? Switch to Pepsi? I DON'T THINK SO!

 

[Bob]

Praying Ain't The Answer Here!!!!

I cannot wonder if the Gov. has nothing in his pocket, besides praying for rain! Why don't they pray for peace while their at it? The man is a Veterinarian, so you know he is smart! Its all political at this point and by withdrawing his lawusit against the Corps, thats leaves me with a vote of no confidence. How else do you stop the Lake from hemorraging? My bet is that the Corps right now is trying to dump as much water out as possible (record amounts now) to fill the needs below stream before they reduce. Swell everything up downstream and swollen it is right now folks below Atlanta! Its probably all in the gameplan. They probably made a few promises and asked the Gov. to back off for now. No, you cannot blame the Gov. for La Nina or the drought, nor do you expect to see him at a feverish pace install desalination plants with piping from the coast in Atlanta anytime soon. Its nature, its a climatological pattern and Lanier has become a political hot potato. The Corps lost my vote when they re-channeled the Kissimmee River and screwed up Lake Okeechobee and now the Everglades. They must be loving this one!! You have to wonder if anyone has considered cloud seeding down the road yet?Bob

 

[jackhartjr]

JungleJetRock...

...AMEN! Nuff said!Jack

 

[John5961]

Coca-cola

Coke's Corporate headquarters is in Atlanta. They don't do all the manufacturing here. There are bottling plants all over the world.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Lanier my be economic opportunity for someone

Imagine how much valuable merchandise is lost overboard every year in slips and coves...everything from tools to jewelry, to a zillion anchors. And it's been years since there's been this much exposed lake bed, if ever quite this much. This could be an excellent time to invest in a metal detector and start hunting around in the slips that are now dry and the shorelines where raftups are popular. I was on Lanier for more than 20 years and have seen the lake level drop as much as 13'. We had water use restrictions then too, which prohibited boat washing. One of my dock mates came up with a creative solution: we invested in a raw water washdown pump and some hose, a battery and a portable charger, which we kept on the dock. When one of us wanted to wash our boat, we loaded the "system" into our cockpit...went out to the main channel where the water was deep--and therefore clean--dangled the pickup hose over the side and drifted there while we used lake water to clean up our boats. Even if you're stuck in a slip where the water is a bit murky, murky water to wash the boat is better than none.I remember the first year the lake went down to what was then record low levels...daily the media trumpeted that it was an ecologic/economic disaster from which the lake would take decades to recover...maybe never. They were wrong...the following spring brought so much rain that water was knee deep in marina parking lots!

 

[Bob4203]

Already Goin On Peggie

Well Peggie, if you do not slip too deeply into the mud you can use a metal detector and probably do very well. We never hear anything on the news and the only real access for the public is at the public launch areas and parks. I am sure folks are finding jewelry and coins, but not sure about the anchors. We are not down to the tree stumps quit yet where most of the anchors get caught up. When it gets that bad, I know my boat is in the mud!!Indeed, if you search the Lake LAnier Army Corp website you will see that in 1982 (December) Lanier reached a low of 1052.69 feet. Today we are at 1053 and dropping a foot+ per week. The issue is the drought! Lake levels go up and down and I can attest to that as an owner who has been sailing on Lanier since 1978. BUT, we have a climatogical change by La Nina that although is cyclic, has hit us hard and will continue as forecasted. We have only one control and that is a lever that controls the release of water!! To put this all is a better perspective, the "Dead Pool" in Lake Lanier is between 919 feet and 1035 feet. When get down to the dead pool they are talking about barges moving water toward the dam. We are today 18 feet from the deadpool depth. Scarey stuff.Bob

 

[RobG]

Not only the lake but the fires.

I haven't heard about the fires but I flew over central GA and northern Fla on Thursday. As far as I could see were fire after fire. It was a very sad sight. Also I was on the lake on a business associates house boat in May and had a wonderful time. I wish him and all who live down there the best of luck in your crisis.

 

[Bob4203]

Fires are a danger

As north Georgia continues to dry up, fire dangers are present. We had a lumber yard go up in flames in town last week and embers were endangering adjacent apartment complexes and strip malls. We are expecting some rain tonight, which will be soaked up pretty quickly by the soil and plants, but sustained rain is required. Driving to work this morning I noticed that the Chattahoochee was flowing SWOLLEN and high up on its banks indicating that big releases from Lanier continue. Someone knows something out there! Clock keeps ticking.Bob

 

[Clyde]

Georgia Water Conservation Not Working

It seems that if you are rich in Georgia there is no water shortage, if you are willing to pay for it. There is a guy name Chris Carlos, living in Atlanta in a 5 bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion located on 14,000 sq ft lot who is using 60 times the amount of water an average family household uses, and he lives alone! He has been using 440,000 gallons per month! His lawn is green and his swimming pool is alway full. Maybe he's a survivalist and is hoarding water in an underground reservoir? Or maybe he's building his own lake since he can't sail on Lake Lanier anymore. The county says that they have no proof that he is violating the drought water restriction."…the water department said it has no proof he has broken any regulations and has no authority to stop him…"Fair Winds,ClydeOne Man's Water Is Another's Outragehttp://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3848139

 

[Bob]

Conservation Measures Are More Voluntary

Water conservation measures are mostly voluntary. Folks I talk to at work do not do a load of laundry to wash until they have enough to pack the washing machine and the same holds true for dishwashers. Rain barrels are becomming popular as you cannot water lawns, plants or anything outdoors for that matter. Precious rain that is trapped and stored is the only measure to collect sufficient quantities for watering. Their is discussion of offering incentives for water saving toilets, but its as easy as dropping in a quart plastic milk jug filled with gravel or sand with a sealed top into the tank. This would displace the water equivalent to what a water saving toilet would do for just pennies! Bricks dissolve too easily.No one has been broadcasting anything on the "what ifs" on water conservation, yet you can go online to a Lake Lanier Level clock, and yesterday it read...."Water Left-53 days, 9 hours , 23 minutes". How could they enforce any type of conservation in millions of homes and businesses? Its been strictly voluntary. BUT, it will reach critical mass shortly and the point of no return for Atlanta if the Corps does not wake up and ease the flow out of Lanier. Its chilling to see every morning and evening the "Hootch" swollen and almost over its banks as the Corps dumps record volumes out of Lanier. I have to forget about my Catalina 30 for now, because I am trapped inside support cables and the mooring areas are just as deep as water under my keel.I am at the mercy of the drought gods and the Corps of Engineers, for now.If the climatologists, meteorologists and environmentalists are right in this forecast of extended drought through 2008 and Lanier continues on its path of continued hemorraging, what will be the fate of North Georgia? Think about it?Is it possible that with no time to drill, dig, tunnel, redirect, or move water from other areas that we can be out of water in three to five months? Effluent discharges into Lanier from municipalities offer some water, but its really rain that we must rely on. This week we will record the lowest level in Lanier history, but that is not really relevent considering that Lanier came up to full pool within several months thereafter from monsoon type winter rains. Unless we get continuous rain to make up the nearly nineteen-inch rain deficit, in a short period of time, the outcome is anyone's guess! For now its a tough reality to deal with, because we have no control over the weather, do we?Bob

 

[Benny]

Voluntary conservation measures?

I though there was an emergency. Here in the Tampa area we live all year round under mandatory water restrictions with heavy fines for violations. When the people of Atlanta impose a mandatory water rationing program by imposing a rolling shutoff schedule then perhaps the rest of the nation may take the complaining seriously. Blaming the Corps of Engineers is not cutting it.

 

[abe]

Thats funny Peggie....the doomer and gloomers...

were present then and they are now. It always appears to be the end of the world. When I was in h.s. it wasn't global warming..it was global cooling and how we were going to starve to death because of the cold that was coming soon in the next 50 years. Then you had droughts in California, Africa...then came the rains and floods and sooner or later they discovered El Nino and La Nina. Oh, don't for get the comets...people already forgot about that one. Not to mention the increased level of earth quake and volcano activities. Move over government let the private sector solve all your water problem...If Tijuana can have disalination plants then Florida, California, and Georgia should too.Well, I am still around living.... are you?abe

 

[Bob]

Speaking of Which

........the latest published end of the world date is now December 12, 2012, according to the Mayans and now Nostradomous. That does allow for plenty of sailing time and I will assume that Lake Lanier will be back at full pool again by then! All I want to do is go sailing!!!!! But this lake is drying up and its really a bummer. This is our sailing season here. Anyone want to swap? You can sit on my boat and watch the water lower each day and enjoy the scenic red clay shoreline in a nice tranquil little bay that you cannot get out of! It is peaceful and I will supply the beer. Bob

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

More inaccurate media hype, Bob...

The Mayan calendar does NOT predict the end of the world in 2012, their CALENDAR ends then. It had always divided time in 50,000 year cycles...2012 is the end of the current cycle...and also in the Chinese I Ching, which is even older than the Mayans. So to the media, that has to mean the end of the world. Nostradamus' predictions are so vague they can be interpreted to mean just about anything anyone wants 'em to mean. I saw the same program about his "Lost Book" on the History Channel that I'm guessing you did...had it included any real prediction of anything, every media outlet on the planet would be discussing it...but have you even seen any mention of any "lost book" anywhere BUT the promos for that show? I haven't. The media has already become obsessed with the idea that the "end is nigh," but we ain't seen nothin' yet--not even as we approached Y2K (wasn't world supposed to end--or at least have a total tech crash--then too?), compared to what's gonna start as we approach 01/01/2012 and right up to 12/21. 12/22 is likely to be a very slow news day!