Wet and wild on the 'Hooch: Kayakers paddle towards the rapids on Monday, Oct. 1, 5 PM.
(Dave Bender)
Same spot on the 'Hooch, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 12 AM. (Dave Bender)
The Chattahoochee River and other Georgia bodies of water have hard hit by the drought. Officials warn, for example, that Lake Lanier is at it's lowest point in 20-years.
But while the deepening drought and low water levels along the Chattahoochee have been bad news for most water sports, it's been good news for kayakers at Eagle Phenix Dam in Columbus.
On many afternoons, soon after Georgia Power opens the floodgates upstream, wet-suited enthusiasts can be seen deftly flipping and bobbling around the rocky shoals, which are only visible in drought conditions.
Kayaker Zach Sanders, of Auburn, Alabama told GPB News the daily rapids here are the best he's seen:
“I've paddled, you know, all over the southeast, and this is as good or better than any spot I've been to, here in Columbus.”But in the hours just before the deluge? You can just about walk from bank-to-bank, and barely get your feet wet.
On September 28, 2007, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division declared a Level Four Drought schedule across the northern third of Georgia (.PDF file download).
United States Geological Service real-time drought statistics are available here.
Click here for more GPB coverage of the water crisis.
