The state Environmental Protection Division wants the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue releasing less water from Lake Lanier through May 31.

That will mean continued low-flows in the Chattahoochee River through Atlanta, something that worries both downstream neighbors and environmentalists. The corps is reviewing the request and taking comments on the request from Alabama, Florida and others through May 7.

The corps began holding more water in Lake Lanier March 14 to conserve the region's primary water source, at the EPD's request.

Before that, the corps was meeting a state-mandated minimum flow for the Chattahoochee through Atlanta. The state set the minimum more than 30 years ago to ensure there's enough water in the river to dilute the region's treated wastewater.

In a letter last week to the corps' Mobile District commander, Col. Byron G. Jorns, EPD Director Carol Couch said the state has been monitoring the river since the corps reduced Lanier's water releases and the data "indicate no adverse water quality impacts."

According to EPD, the Chattahoochee was more affected by a sewage spill from the city of Atlanta on April 11 that killed fish in Proctor Creek, a tributary of the river. The spill sharply reduced the dissolved oxygen level of the Chattahoochee.