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DEL.ICIO.USDrought is still extreme; Georgia still blamed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s a sense across metro Atlanta that the worst may be behind us, that the extraordinary drought that transfixed the region last fall and winter has eased and that things are finally getting back to normal.
That is a dangerous, dangerous assumption.
Yes, we’ve had rain. Yes, Lake Allatoona is full again and levels at Lake Lanier have been rising. Last October, more than a quarter of Georgia was experiencing a D4, or exceptional, drought, the worst level on the drought scale. As of this month, none of Georgia is experiencing a drought that extreme.
All of that is good; all of it is reassuring.
However, when you compare our situation to a year ago, things don’t look anywhere near so bright.
This year, we’re headed into the hot, dry summer months with water levels at Lake Lanier that are already 11 feet below where they were last April. In fact, springtime levels at Lake Lanier have never been close to this low. And even though water levels have risen gradually over the winter, the lake is today at the exact same level it was last October.
And last October, you may recall, the metro area was in little short of a panic, with the drought dominating the headlines, the evening news shows and social conversations.
Furthermore, even though the most severe drought symptoms have eased, most of north Georgia —- and thus most of Lake Lanier’s watershed —- is still experiencing a D3, or extreme, drought. Trees and plants that were dormant through the winter have sprung back to life, absorbing immense amount of water from soil still parched from last summer’s dry spell.
Streams flowing into Lake Lanier are suffering as a result. At a monitoring station on the Chestatee River near Dahlonega on Friday, the flow was less than 200 cubic feet per second, less than half the normal flow at this time of year.
On the Chattahoochee River near Cornelia, the flow was 440 cfs, again less than half its normal April flow.
“We’re going to start the season out lower than Lake Lanier has ever been,” says Pat Stevens, environmental planner for the Atlanta Regional Commission.
“We’re concerned. You can’t overtax a reservoir with such a small drainage area, which is what we did last year.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a temporary new plan for operating Buford Dam and Lake Lanier. Those changes, now up for public comment, would allow the agency to store more water in the lake and may allow it to recover more quickly, at least if the rains come.
Georgia officials, while supportive of the change, question whether it will be enough. Officials in Alabama and Florida are generally less pleased, complaining that it would mean less water flowing downstream.
Water in Lake Lanier “was never intended to be metro Atlanta’s water supply,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), “and any decision that makes it so comes at the expense of the citizens in Alabama, Florida and downstate Georgia.”
U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat, took a similar line, saying Florida was bearing the brunt of Georgia’s mistakes.
“The state of Florida has worked hard over the past 36 years to be wise stewards of our water,” he told Florida reporters, “and the state of Georgia must do the same by developing and strictly following a responsible plan for their continued growth and water needs.”
There’s no question that’s true. It would be a great mistake if Georgia’s drought-driven commitment to wise use of its water resources proved to be a temporary phenomenon.
However, it’s also true that our downstream neighbors have found it all too convenient to blame metro Atlanta, as if we and the Corps of Engineers somehow created the drought.
As Stevens put it, “The corps only controls a very small part of the water; God controls the rest. I think sometimes they just want to inflict pain [on metro Atlanta], not understand the science of the situation.”
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By Larry
April 21, 2008 7:50 AM | Link to this
The drought BETTER be over. This year’s little league season was practically rained out. Totally not fair if there’s still a water shortage.
Also, as bad as the drought is, imagine if congress hadn’t passed the 1.6 gallon per flush law in 1988. If there’s still a water shortage after twenty years of torture and stopped commodes, then maybe we should start looking to solar and wind power to solve our water needs, you know what I say this day?
I’m a scientist. I solve problems. I only sound like an idiot.
By Just Nasty and Mean
April 21, 2008 8:23 AM | Link to this
Did Georgia get their portion of Florida’s tourist dollars? Did Georgia get our proportion of Florida’s massive phosphate mines? Did Georgia get paid for Florida’s citrus crops? I don’t think so?
So why does Florida and Alabama automatically get alloted a portion of Georgia’s natural resources?
If Florida demands natural resources from us, why doesn’t it work the other way?
Georgia’s water is as much of a limited commodity as oil, corn or pork bellies—-or grapefruit and oranges.
So Florida—you want more water? How much are you willing to pay for it?
By JC Resident
April 21, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this
Yea!! And all you Ecologinazis, how much are you willing to pay to help out your mussels and sturgeon?
My guess is ZERO! You’re only willing to be concerned when someone else is paying—in this case all of North Georgia.
If you feel that strongly about your ecological beliefs, then stand up and work (pay) for them!
By gafarmer
April 21, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this
In a drought it does’t make much sense to release or pump out more than flows in. If lanier did not exist that’s all the folks down stream would be receiving.
New reservoirs have been necessary for years for more reasons than water supply. Better planning on the part of metro governments could help, but you can’t manage what you don’t have!!!!!!
By Bill
April 21, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this
If you really think about it, the Lake Lanier water thing is pretty simple. Water in should equal water out. If there is a shortfall on the amount coming in it should be commensurate on the outflow. Thus, the water level in the lake should remain fairly constant. To, do anything else is denying the reality of the variability in weather, and another failed attempt to “manage” nature.
By Wild Bill Hiltner
April 21, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this
I’m shocked that “Oh Jay” Bookman did not knife right to the heart of the matter and blame the Lanier water levels on President Bush. Betcha “Oh Jay” believes that all will be solved when Obamalamadingdong - he got the ooh wow wow, he got the ooh wow wow - is elected.
By demwit
April 21, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
I know…!
Let’s tax water to help pay for improving our system so we can use more water thereby increasing tax receits.
Oh wait…., we’re already doing that!!
By andyK
April 21, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Georgia has given developers a totally free hand for years…you see the result…as a former Floridian I can tell you Florida needs the water not for mussels but for the crucial oyster farms near Appalachicola…if salt water backs up much further an entire way of life will be destroyed in Florida…why? so some Geoprgia developers can make millions
By Wild Bill Hiltner
April 21, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this
Bill, I think you are missing the point. If you want to restrict water out to an amount that equals in flow why have the dam and lake at all. The whole reason the damn and lake are there at all is to smooth out moderate variations in water flow. In a drought all bets are off.
By CountryBoy
April 21, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
Population reduction is the only solution. If you were not born south of the Mason Dixon line or consider yourself a liberal, move to California!!
By Larry
April 21, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this
One solution to the drought would be to hold a beer drinkin’ contest at Lake Lanier. Oh, there’ll be plenty of water in the lake after that.
By Tony
April 21, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this
Water in = Water Out looks really simple, but the Water Out part of the equation is more than water released by buford dam downstream.
Water Out = water released from buford dam + water consumed from lake lanier by individuals and corporations + evaporation
Not getting into this fight as my say doesn’t really matter, but the equation is not as simple as you make it out to be.
By Ellen
April 21, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this
That Bookman chick looks slightly man-ish. But only slightly.
By Just Nasty and Mean
April 21, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
For what Georgia could charge for our natural resource of water sales to Florida, Alabama and any other purchaser, we could build a water reservoir system that could ensure there would never be a water shortage crisis again in north Georgia—regardless of our population growth.
Why NOT charge for our water? Florida has no reservation charging us for their natural resource exports!
By gafarmer
April 21, 2008 2:42 PM | Link to this
Tony @12:25 is correct that the equation is more complex than water in=water out. Cobb and other metro counties do a good job of recycling for reuse or returning to source their withdrawls. That is an additional factor in the equation.
In fact using grey water for plants last fall in Stone Mountain or Cobb turned water that could be recycled into consumed water unavailable for recycling. Using bath water to flush with kept it in the cycle, smart conservation!!!!