Save Lake Lanier

Lake Lanier continues to be above full pool as overnight rain raised the lake level by 3.5 inches to 1071.56. Storm systems have been affecting the area each week adding to the water level.  The COE has been keeping the Chattahoochee River high to relieve water from Lake Lanier.  Downstream lakes are also above capacity so the COE is pushing the excess water into the Gulf of Mexico.  Lake Lanier is around 2 feet higher than it usually is this time of year with Summer full pool at 1071.  Lake Lanier has gone from extreme drought to extreme abundance.     

It doesn't appear that the water level will drop anytime soon at Lake Lanier.  The water is replenished just as fast as the Corps can send it downstream.  Lake Lanier is at 1071.09 tonight with rain expected to start by 1am.  One to three inches of rain is expected to fall around the Lake Lanier area.  All I can say is that I hope that Lake Lanier is this high this summer to help drawn visitors back to the lake.  During the drought we knew that the number of visitors to Lake Lanier dropped but we did not know by how much.  The figure released by the 1071 Coalition shows that the number of visitors dropped by 800,000 between 2007 and 2008.  The drought directly affected the businesses around the lake that thrive on a full lake.  Maybe some of this water will not escape Buford Dam through the hands of the Corps.