Lake Lanier, already low due to lack of rain, will get even lower, say officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The lake, which provides drinking water to much of the Atlanta area, is currently at 1063.9 feet above sea level, about 7 feet below full pool.
For the next few weeks, engineers will be opening the gates at Buford Dam to send more water downstream, which will further drop the lake level.
"Due to the declining inflows and increased lake evaporation, augmentation from the lakes will be required to maintain minimum flows in the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers unless weather conditions change," said the Corps' E. Patrick Robbins in a press release.
Robbins warned swimmers and boaters to be extra cautious when using the lake as lower water levels bring potential hazards closer to the surface. GEORGE MATHIS
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Atlanta's Board of Ethics is searching for a new ethics officer as Ginny Looney prepares to leave at the end of the month and take job with the Georgia Supreme Court. A nine-member search committee has been established, chaired by John Lewis, a top lawyer at Coca-Cola Co. who deals with compliance and anti-bribery issues. The ethics board is a city agency with purview over conflicts of interest, gifts, and financial disclosure.
Looney was Atlanta's inaugural ethics officer in 2003. In announcing her resignation, she said, "After eight years, I feel that I have done what I intended to do — set up a functioning, effective office for enforcing ethical standards." JEREMIAH MCWILLIAMS
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The Georgia Supreme Court has again rejected a University of Georgia student's attempt to strike down the city of Athens' noise ordinance.
On Monday, the court upheld a citation and $350 fine against Ian Grady, who threw a party at his apartment in downtown Athens in April 2009 to celebrate his acceptance into law school. A police officer said that, from more than 100 feet away at 3:30 a.m., she could clearly hear music from the band Grady had hired. The court found the ordinance to be "a reasonable, content-neutral time, place and manner speech regulation." BILL RANKIN
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Memorial Stair Climb benefits Georgia Firefighters. B5
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Whatever became of Rough and Ready. B4
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