LAKE LANIER: This week’s rainfall helps water level rise rapidly

Lake Lanier continued its rapid rise Wednesday, as full rivers and streams poured in.

By mid-afternoon, Lanier had added 2 feet of water since early Tuesday, with more on the way. That’s about 20 billion gallons of water, or enough to supply metro Atlanta for more than 50 days.

This week’s deluge accelerated a steady rise in the lake that began in early December with a well-timed soaking. Just hours before the rain started on Dec. 9, Lanier came within 2 inches of setting a new record low level.

Since then, Lanier has risen more than 4 feet, to several feet higher than this time last year.

But the federal reservoir, which supplies most of metro Atlanta’s water, is still more than 13 feet below its average elevation for January, and about 14.5 feet below its full, wintertime level. It has been more than three years since the lake was full.

Lanier is one of the final vestiges of the historic drought that began in spring 2006. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the drought began retreating from much of the Southeast in October.

In Georgia, the drought has been clinging to the edge of metro Atlanta in the extreme north-central and northwest parts of the state, strangling Lanier’s feeder streams.

Another metro Atlanta water source —- Lake Allatoona —- also rose dramatically with this week’s rain. Allatoona had gained 7 feet by 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, and was expected to rise a total of more than 12 feet through the weekend.

But unlike Lanier, Allatoona rebounded last year. Allatoona, which holds about one-fifth as much water as Lanier, refills much faster.

In November, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates both Lanier and Allatoona, had drawn down Allatoona to prepare for potential winter floods. The move paid off this week, as the corps held back water in Allatoona to prevent further flooding downstream in Rome.

 CHARLES W. JONES / Staff
LAKE LANIER ELEVATION 
The lake's level has gradually increased since December, when it almost reached a record low. Heavy rain over the past two days has brought a dramatic rise, but the lake is still more than 14 feet below its full, wintertime level. 

Note: Lake is full at 1,070 feet above sea level. 

Graph tracks water elevation in feet above sea level from Dec. 1, 2008 to Jan. 7, 2009 (1,055.41: reading taken at 8:15 p.m.).

1,050.79: Record low level since lake creation, set Dec. 26, 2007.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey