Lake Lanier Water Levels Soar With Heavy Rain
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| Lake Lanier Water Levels Soar With Heavy Rain |
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| Monday, 21 September 2009 17:47 | |||
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Nearly 4 inches of rain have fallen in Gainesville. Nearly 2.5 inches of that amount fell on Sunday morning alone. The effect on Lake Lanier has been dramatic with water levels up around 2 feet since the rains started last week, and over 1.6 feet since last Friday. The lake is expected to rise further as more run-off comes down from the North Georgia mountains, through the Chestatee and Chattahoochee rivers and into Lake Lanier. As of Monday afternoon the lake stands at approximately 1066 feet above sea level. For residents around the lake this is great news as the Corps of Engineers had previously predicted that Lanier would be at around three feet lower at this time. The Corps is monitoring the situation via Buford Dam, which controls outflows from the lake, but flooding is not expected as the lake is still substantially short of full pool.
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Comments (16)
 1066.58 as of 2:15pm today, and rising fast. Up over 28.56 inches since last Tues 9/15, according to USGS. More heavy rain coming. We should punch right through our 2009 high of 1066.71 by 6 to 8pm this evening. The best part of this besides the rise is the minimum siltation that I am seeing. Love it! Paul, Do you realize the Corps released 684cfs yesterday as Atlanta was (and is) experiencing its worst flood in over 100 years? A flood that has already killed 12 people. Lake Lanier is over 17 feet BELOW max flood stage here on Lake Lanier (1085msl)right now. Had the Corps shut down the dam releases, Atlantas's flooding along the Chattahoochee River absolutely would have been less destructive. Lake Lanier was built for FLOOD CONTROL, among other things. There should not have been 1 drop let out of Lake Lanier during this rain event. Nobody is hoarding water. But, maybe the Corps should have done that. Ilive on Lake Lanier, and I am so very thankful for the rain. but I do agree that the corps should have shut the flow off so we could atleast attempt to controlsome of the flooding, Lanier has 19 feet to go before it crest over the banks,, S I totally agree, NO WATER SHOULD HAVE BEEN LET OUT DURING THIS RECORD RAIN FALL!!! The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is DIRECTLY responsible for the flooding and deaths downstream by continuing to release water down the Chattahoochee, knowing full well that all the creeks and streams dump into that river. Anyone with common sense would have shut off ALL discharge into the Hooch until the danger of flooding had passed. People who live along the banks of the Chattahoochee and were flooded needlessly should receive recompense directly from the Corps budget and our governor should appeal to Congress to finally take jurisdiction of Lake Lanier away from the Corps and set up a state - run body to assume the responsibilities and duties that the Corps has so obviously mismanaged. Gainesville Tmes today online: "We didn’t want to put any more water in the river during the flood than there needed to be," Lovelady said. "We were releasing the minimum flow to keep the river at least at minimum level." Rain baby rain, and put a finger in that dike. We are close. Now, will the Corps please learn from their past blunders and prove to THE PEOPLE, that they can manage this magnificent resource in a professional & responsible manner. Hey Corps, reach out to us, we love this lake like nothing else. We are not your adversaries, we are Lake Lanier's #1 fans. Be straight with us. If you need to draw down the lake for a construction project, let us know ahead of time. Tell us the truth. We can handle the truth. We are not fond of surprises. Barges, wheels and pulleys, sturgeon & mussels, record low levels, incredible discharges. Everyone is overly tired of always saying "why are they letting out so much water?!!" We're really tired of the US against Ya'll mentality. The Corps needs a very strong new public relations campaign. How about a big tent barbeque band party for the Corps and the lake folks. You guys can wear your Corps ball caps, but no uniforms. Only bermuda shorts and t-shirts. We need camaraderie. Together we can make Lanier great!
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After several years of drought and falling water levels in Lake Lanier, the last few days have been drastically different.
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