DEL.ICIO.USNumber of Lake Lanier visitors drops 13%
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Lake Lanier lost more than water last year as it set new daily records for low levels.
The federal reservoir had more than 1 million fewer visitors compared with 2005, the last year it was full. The decline amounted to 13 percent, down to 6,656,103 visitors last year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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“The number of boaters is down even more, it would appear to us,” said Wilton Rooks, a vice president of the Lake Lanier Association, representing home and business owners. “Businesses are totally dependent upon those visitors.”
The lake sank to 18 feet below full last summer as the drought heated up. Swimming areas, boat ramps and docks were left high and dry.
Today, the popular lake — which doubles as metro Atlanta’s main source of drinking water — is about 12 feet below full as the drought grinds into its fourth year.
— Stacy Shelton
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