HALL COUNTY, GA — Advocates for Lake Lanier are expressing concerns about plans being considered downstream that they say could impact lake levels and affect the way millions of people use the lake’s water.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying the impact of allowing commercial navigation on rivers south of Lake Lanier. Congress has appropriated $3 million to examine reinstating dredging and channel restoration in support of navigation.
The Lake Lanier Association said it is worried the proposal could reduce water levels in the lake and increase the flow of water released from the lake’s dam to support navigation.
“The corps of engineers could pursue supporting navigation again, in a way that could impact Lake Lanier,” said Lake Lanier Association Vice President Clyde Morris.
Morris said Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River serve as metro Atlanta’s source of drinking water and warned the proposal could have significant impacts.
“Lanier just simply cannot refill fast enough or often enough to be able to withstand the constant pressure of having to send water downstream,” Morris said.
Morris also said, “Under almost every single scenario of increased navigation, length, and season, there would be the equivalent of multiple draw downs of Lake Lanier’s entire conservation pool.”
The association is calling for a full cost-benefit analysis of the proposal.
“So that we don’t run into a situation where the core is changing its operations trying to support navigation and Lake Lanier is being impacted as a result,” Morris said.
Morris added that, “Any water increase that is required by navigation down near the bottom and of the system is going to draw water from the three storage reservoirs, and Lake Lanier gots two-thirds of that water.”
Lake Lanier serves as the water supply source for almost five million people in metro Atlanta and North Georgia and supports a recreational economy with a billion-dollar annual impact on the region.
In statements, the Army Corps of Engineers said it remains committed to an open, science-based planning process and will complete what is necessary to support informed decision-making. Officials said no final decisions on navigation operations or the project have been made.
Proponents of the proposal believe the changes could improve economic conditions for thousands of people living downstream from Lake Lanier. The idea also has support from elected officials and government entities in both Georgia and Alabama.