Corps limits Lanier flow – Statesboro Herald

ATLANTA — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it will conserve water during the ongoing drought by limiting the flow from a major reservoir that serves as Atlanta’s main water supply.
Army officials plan to reduce the flow of water from Lake Lanier from 750 cubic feet per second to 650 cubic feet per second, Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Pat Robbins said. Although Robbins said the reduced flow into the Chattahoochee River would not be noticeable to the naked eye, there are plans to gradually increase the reservoir’s water level in case river systems become depleted in the coming months.
The dam was holding about 1,058 feet of water Wednesday, a few feet above levels last seen during a prolonged drought that began in 2007.
Lake Lanier drains into the Chattahoochee River, which flows around Atlanta and along the Alabama-Georgia border. The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers merge near the Florida border to form the Apalachicola River. Additional dams south of Lake Lanier help regulate water flow throughout the basin.
“If the lower lakes don’t get additional rain, they’re going to have to find water somewhere,” Robbins said. “And that’s why they hold water at Lake Lanier: it’s for the health of the system.”
Georgia officials asked the Army Corps of Engineers to limit the flow of water from the Lake Lanier hydroelectric dam earlier this month. The Army said it reviewed information provided by Georgia officials and determined that reducing water flow into the Chattahoochee River would not harm the environment.
“We decided to do this because it’s expected to be a warm, dry winter and we’re already experiencing the effects of the drought we’re in right now,” said Jim Ussery, deputy director of the Georgia Division of Environmental Protection. “We wanted to keep as much flow as possible and as much storage capacity as possible in Lake Lanier.”
Sensors transmit water quality information to Georgia officials at several locations along the Chattahoochee. If those sensors detect problems such as too little dissolved oxygen in the water (a problem that is harmful to fish), the flow from the dam can be increased, Ussery said.
Army officials said they made the decision to restrict water flows during the 2008 drought and have previously taken similar measures along the Alabama, Coosa and Tallapoosa river system, shared by Georgia and Alabama.
Georgia has been embroiled in a long-running legal dispute over metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier, which is the primary water source for about 3 million people. Alabama and Florida say Congress never authorized metro Atlanta to extract drinking water from the reservoir and that the city uses too much, harming the environment and downstream industry.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Georgia’s favor. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said his state would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Florida did not object to the flow restrictions announced Wednesday for Lake Lanier, said Jennifer Diaz, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Alabama officials did not return calls seeking comment.