Tag Archive for 'lake lanier'

What’s Next In The Water War

Published on 08/02/2012 in hydropower, lakes, peak water, policy, rivers, tap water, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.gpb.org

“This river system does many things…supplies drinking water, hydropower, takes away our treated waste water. You’ve got wildlife and endangered species issues, industrial issues. The trick is to figure out how to share this liquid lifeline that is so critical from north Georgia all the way to Florida.”

“That trick has to be figured out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When Congress authorized construction of Lake Lanier in 1946, it charged the Corps with managing the water. Everything the Corps does at the lake impacts the hundreds of miles of river downstream.

But the Corps’ water control manuals haven’t been updated in nearly a quarter century. Spokesman Pat Robins says a lot has changed since they were written in 1989:

“There’s a lot of migration shifts and population booms and things that are not there today that were there back then. “

The metro Atlanta area population has grown from nearly 3 million in 1990 to nearly 5 and a half million in 2009.

The Corps has updated water management technology to improve water quality. But Lake Lanier Operations Project Manager Tim Rainey says changing regulations have been an added consideration:”

Read more: GPB News

lily victoria

Ga. Claims ‘Total Victory’ In Tri-State Water War

Published on 06/29/2011 in lakes, policy, tap water and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , .

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“ATLANTA — Georgia is claiming “total victory” in the fight to keep Lake Lanier as metro Atlanta’s primary source for water.

A federal appeals panel on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling and said the 3 million people around metro Atlanta can continue to draw water from Lanier.

In 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Lanier was never meant to be metro Atlanta’s prime source of water and ordered Georgia, Florida and Alabama to hammer out some kind of mutual water-sharing agreement by July 2012, or water withdrawals from Lanier must be reduced to 1970′s levels, something metro Atlanta leaders saw as potentially catastrophic for the region.”

“This is a great victory, a total victory for the state of Georgia,” said Gov. Nathan Deal’s spokesman Brian Robinson. “We had a gun pointed to our head with the Magnuson ruling. That’s been removed. This is a common sense ruling, which is why Georgia was saying all along that Lake Lanier was built for water use. It just makes sense.”

Read more: wsbtv.com

 

lily victoria

Report Could Give Florida Win In Water War

Published on 06/07/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, drought, lakes, management, peak water, policy, rivers, species extinction, tap water, water shortage and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.wkrg.com

“A new report scheduled for release Aug. 1 says Florida may need more water than first thought to prevent deaths of an endangered mussel in Florida’s Apalachicola River, the Miami Herald is reporting. The revision could give Florida a win in the long-running water dispute between Georgia, Florida and Alabama. The three states have fought for years over water, with both Florida and Alabama calling Georgia a water hog that uses so much of the natural resource too little is left for people and wildlife in the neighboring states.

According to the Miami newspaper, a new study has U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers revisiting a 2008 report that found keeping the river flowing at a minimum of 5,000 cubic feet per second would not threaten the existence of the endangered fat threeridge mussel. Scientists are concerned the mussel has moved higher on the riverbank and could need more water to survive than was the case during the drought-stricken period when the study was first completed. More water for Florida could mean less water Atlanta is allowed to drain from Lake Lanier to supply city residents.

The new study says that as many as 1,200 endangered mussels were exposed to air in September when river levels dropped, Donald Imm, a project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Panama City, Fla. told the Miami Herald. He said the mussels are an indication of general conditions for other wildlife in the waterway.”

Read more: Atlanta Business Chronicle

 

lily victoria

Federal Appeals Court could repeal water deadline; Judges may ask corps to refigure use of Lake Lanier

Published on 03/10/2011 in drought, lakes, management, policy, water diversions, water rights and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Photo retrieved from: tinapeacock.files.wordpress.com

“The fate of Lake Lanier as the primary water source for metro Atlanta, including Gainesville, is now in the hands of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

“But at least one observer to a three-hour hearing on the matter Wednesday, Lake Lanier Association attorney Clyde Morris, said he feels “cautiously optimistic” the three-judge panel will rule in Georgia’s favor, based on some of its questions and banter with attorneys.

“”Obviously, there’s a lot of work still to be done by the court before the decision comes out, but it was clear the judges had read the briefs (and) had examined the record in detail,” said Morris, who attended the hearing but did not present any arguments.

“Georgia is asking the court to overturn a July 2009 ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson that gave the state three years to work out an agreement with neighbors Alabama and Florida — foes in the 20-year water dispute — or face not being able to withdraw water from the North Georgia reservoir.”

Read more: Gainesville Times

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