Corps: Lake Lanier’s got 280 days of water left
October 23, 2007 at 2:10 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsAdd another number to the mix.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a phone interview today that the state’s estimate of Lake Lanier’s remaining water supply is wrong.
Corps spokesman Rob Holland says that Lake Lanier has 280 days of available water supply, a stark contrast to the state’s estimate of 80 days.
After 110 days, Holland says, the level will reach the bottom of the conservation pool — which is not the same thing as the bottom of the lake. At that point, emergency pipes would have to be lowered to access water below the dam’s gates. The Gainesville Times reports that some area residents are concerned about the quality of the water when diminishing amounts of it are mixed with the same amount of wastewater discharges from nearby treatment plants. Kelly Randall, the city’s director of public utilities, says that the Environmental Protection Division requires the effluent be thoroughly treated and does not need dilution.
The Corps is analyzing streamflows and determining if smaller releases would jeopardize the mussels. But don’t expect the Corps to modify the existing releases anytime soon, says Maj. Daren Payne, deputy commander of the Corps’ Mobile District, the entity that oversees Buford Dam at Lake Lanier.
I’m still waiting on Kevin Chambers, the EPD’s spokesman, to call me back and let me know where the state stands. Matt Kempner at That Other Paper takes a good look at how the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, the 16-county organization that relies on Lakes Lanier and Allatoona for drinking water, can’t gauge the effectiveness of conservation measures suggested years ago because many areas haven’t even put them to use.
October 23rd, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Oh, thank goodness! Now I can go turn on my sprinkler.