Lake Lanier holds 637 billion gallons of water and provides drinking water for more than 5.7 million Georgians. But when the state experiences a drought water levels plunge at this man-made lake and Atlanta’s main water supply.
Credit: Joanna Cloud
Credit: Joanna Cloud
In late 2007, Lake Lanier sank to new lows. The sinking lake levels forced marinas to shutter and exposed the remnants of a long-inundated race track, forcing local governments to dust off long-forgotten emergency plans. At one point, metro Atlanta had less than 90 days of water supply left.
Credit: Kimberly Smith
Credit: Kimberly Smith
Joanna Cloud, executive director of the Lake Lanier Association, is one of many studying why water decreases have such a high impact on the state of Georgia, and what population growth means for the future.
Hear from Cloud in the above 360 video on how water level decreases at Lake Lanier impact the state of Georgia and metro Atlanta.
Credit: Allen Sullivan
Credit: Allen Sullivan
How we got this story:
This story was produced in partnership with the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Grady College was one of 10 schools that was awarded funds from the Online News Association to experiment with new technology in collaborative local news coverage to improve training for students and generate meaningful lessons for digital news. You can learn more about the program here.
Credit: Allen Sullivan
Credit: Allen Sullivan
Drought resources:
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
MORE PHOTOS FROM PAST DROUGHTS AT LAKE LANIER
