Lake Lanier's Most Dangerous Jobs Gets Safer

Some members of the Hall County Sheriff's Office go to places  where very few other people ever go ... the depths of Lake Lanier. Down in the murky water, visibility is almost zero and below 60 feet the lake bottom is covered in trees. Its a much harder job than diving in a natural lake.

The officers need to dive down into the depths whenever they're looking for a drowning victim. They had to dive for ten victims in 2006 and seven in 2005.  

That job just became easier, however. 

The Centerion "side scan" sonar system developed by Marine Sonic Technology is a 50-pound, torpedo-shaped sensor that is dropped into the water attached to a towline. The device emits fan-shaped sound pulses at an angle toward the bottom of the lake, transmitting the information back as a clear, three-dimensional picture.

A water-resistant laptop computer gives boat operators a yellow and amber bird's-eye view of all that lies beneath. Each shape and shadow on the bottom's surface is rendered on a scrolling 10-inch flatscreen display.

"The detail is amazing," said Deputy David Cobb, a member of the sheriff's dive team for the past three years.

The computer can plot out a course using global positioning systems, allowing divers to place a floating marker where their target lies. Officials say the new imaging should preclude divers from making tedious, foot-by-foot searches with "rope grids" and multiple dives.

"It can cover every inch the distance of a football field in 30 minutes," Cobb said. "It will save a lot of time and diver injuries."

Cronic credits state Rep. James Mills, R-Chestnut Mountain, with getting state funds to purchase the $35,000 system.

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