Posted on 10/23/2007 11:33:05 PM PDT by Kaslin
Regulation: The burgeoning metro Atlanta area is being hit hard by the severe drought in the Southeast. Is it too much to ask that a few protected species make a sacrifice for humans?
Lying just north of the metropolitan area is Lake Lanier, a man-made reservoir that provides water for a region of 5 million. It was created when the Chattahoochee River, which flows from the North Georgia mountains southward to the Gulf of Mexico, was dammed in the 1950s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which still operates the reservoir.
The lake is at the center of the worst drought the Southeastern U.S. has ever experienced. A severe lack of rain and federal law governing water flow from Lake Lanier have combined to turn parts of Georgia, Alabama and Florida into barren badlands.
Despite some recent and forecasted rain, officials say Lake Lanier's water level is down 10 feet and has less than 80 days of water left to supply a thirsty metropolis.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
I heard we have 75 days until we are at conservation pool level. And the COE and FWS are saying they will think about our demand to shut the spigot. But, they stated, “thinking about it” will take weeks.
We got some much needed rain yesterday. Not even close to what we need though. And they never mention that accidental release last winter and spring of 22 BILLION gallons due to them not reading and maintaining a guage properly.
Send in the Guard Sonny.
You have the President dallying on the Disaster request from Gov Perdue and the Governor of Alabama stabbing us in the back with his letter to Bush asking the disaster request not be approved. Meanwhile, more water leaves the lake than enters it.
We are coming to the end of the line on legal actions. Seizing the dam may move from the last option to the only option.
I wonder if Sonny ordered the State Patrol to block Int 85 and 20 coming in from Alabama for about an hour on a busy day, would the Governor of that state start thinking if he would rather let us solve our own water problems in Georgia without his interference?
I don’t understand why we don’t use the dams further down the river for control of supply to FL and AL where there are no majot population centers.
And what really gets me, if the dams did not exist, the river would be way down and the mussels would get proportionately less during the drought. The COE is artificially maintaining a species of bivalve at human expense!
Wait until major operations, like the Coca-Cola plant, are forced to shut down and people are laid off. Then you’re really going to see the fur fly. Hopefully, rain will hit heavy and hard before then.
Stopping the Lake Lanier water releases would hurt drought stricken areas & communities down stream. By what reasoning is Atlanta more deserving of this water than others who use it? In an emergency situation, is the remaining water to be rationed based “importance” of the individual or community; or should it be shared equally by all?
I don’t pretend to know whether the releases are equitable or not, but I do know that desperate people will consider their needs before other’s needs. Given years of experience, the Corps of Engineers is probably the best arbiter in this matter. And if Congress gets involved, the water will likely end up in Los Angeles or New York, not in Atlanta.
Atlanta has been growing like a weed for many years. Lake Lanier was built in 1956. Atlanta has simply outgrown its water source & MUST develop other water sources. Or stop growing! The drought has only made the need more immediate.
Wow, I was just reading that a group on Saturday are planning to stand below the dam to prevent the scheduled release.
Yes there will be a protest to take place at Buford Dam this Saturday.
You can find details at http://www.savelakelanier.com
There will be protests on both sides of the dam:
Powerboats will gather on the lake around the dam
Paddlers will be on the lower part of the dam to try to stop a scheduled water release from the Corps of Engineers.
There will be media there to cover this event as the Lake Lanier community unites to protect our most vital resource.
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