Earlier this year the federal government attempted to mediate the decades old tri-state tug of water between Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Governing the release of water from Lake Lanier is a fifty year old set of rules.
With the U-S Army Corps of Engineers now looking to re-write those rules, local businesses who livelihoods depend upon the lake – hope the Corps will consider the economic impact of continuing to release more water downstream. The process is expected to take at least three years.
Grier Todd is Chief Operating Office of Lake Lanier Islands Resort. He also heads the 1071 Coalition. The group takes its name from Lake Lanier's capacity of 1,071 feet.
"There's a vital need for an up to date current economic impact study to be done on the effect of the lake on the whole metro area. There's not a study like that out there."Lake Lanier – metro Atlanta's primary water source -- is currently 18 feet below capacity. That's about 175 billion gallons of water, according to one estimate -- enough to fill up UGA's Sanford Stadium about nine times. Experts predict Lake Lanier will reach its lowest level ever in early 2009 despite expected winter rains.
