Lake Lanier: Where Did It Go?

The people around Lake Lanier check the news for the water levels everyday. It's almost a daily ritual for these Georgians. You go to the local news channel, check the Army Corps of Engineer's website for the levels, or just gossip about it with your neighbor. Record-low water levels have been listed as over twenty feet below a normal level last November and December. Only since February has the lake been able to fill back up, although, even in May, Lake Lanier is still fifteen feet short of normal levels.

Let me give you some history of Lake Lanier. Lake Lanier is a man-made lake. Held by Buford Dam, the Chattahoochee River floods an area of 37,000 acres just northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Back in the 40s and 50s, the government approved the building of Lake Lanier and other reservoirs for defense, controlling floods, and providing water and electricity. The land that the Buford Dam would fill was claimed by the Army Corps of Engineers before the construction. I've heard tales that towns and roads lay ruin under the lake like a North Georgian Atlantis. The construction began in the early 50s and ended just before the 60s. Finally, the lake was named after Georgian-poet Sidney Lanier, famous for his poem about the Chattahoochee River.

Since I have a dock on Lake Lanier, it's imperative that I check the lake every now and then. I went out to our little cove of the lake to check the status. Here's what I found.


The area that used to be a lake in my backyard, is now a muddy field with two creeks running in the middle. Bugs chirp and rocks are uncovered. The previous water line is evident, a scar running along the earth. Everything from glass to styrofoam is scattered among the grass. And the trees seem taller now.

The ground, once saturated with lake water, is now cracked and dry. Only robust grass can grow now. Deer and rabbit tracks seem to wander around in the mud. Be careful though, invisible patches of wet mud can suck your whole leg underground like quicksand.

There is a marker on the far end of the little inlet. It cautions unknowing boaters of the dangerous rocky shore. Now, the sign sits in the clay. Since the water levels have been down, no boat has been able to reach the sign and its warning of a craggy beach. 400, the highway that serves the western half of Lake Lanier, looms in the heights of the trees. The roaring of cars sails down the slopes of the hill down to the valley that a lake left behind.

The grass grows as tall as a person here. The wind, seemingly caused by the whizzing of vehicles from the interstate, causes the grass to sway. It looks as if the grass waves hello to the automobiles. Maybe the grass is trying to get attention; it severely needs water. Perhaps the grass is jumping for joy because it can now grow freely.

The lake has turned into a small brook, bubbling across the river rocks. Now that the lake has gone, the murky depths have been discovered. Pieces of metal and cans of beer or soda have been found, probably from the highway's messy drivers. Now, the water flows around, through, and over the trash. They seem to be deserted, rejected by their owners, like an abandoned puppy finding its way home, but nobody wants to find them again.

Docks, once floating gracefully on the glassy water and moving where the wind blows, now sag, droopy and tired. The docks seems stressed by the unusual bending that it now has to suffer. Why me? it says, When will the water come back? Nobody can use their boats any more in this area because the docks sit on the ground instead of float on the water.

Here's a slideshow of more pictures. You can see the lake's present condition as well as what this condition has caused.

Why is this happening? you may ask. Well, first, in 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers revealed that the water level gauge wasn't working as planned. It was calibrated at a few feet below normal, mistakingly causing a huge release of water. Georgia has been in a drought condition for a long time now. Sonny Perdue, the governor of Georgia, stated that this mistake has caused "a man-made drought" on top of a real drought for Georgia. This problematic condition has caused much anger in the citizens of North Georgia. The lake has provided water, electricity, and pleasure, and if the lake levels have gone down, then those things will have disappeared.

Even with these problems, the states of Alabama and Florida have demanded more water to be released from Lake Lanier; this will benefit the endangered species living in the estuaries of the mouth of the Chattahoochee. Bad planning and actions by the Georgia General Assembly also have caused grievances among the citizens. Not much has been done (that works) to stop the lakes levels' decline.

Which side are you on? Should the people of Georgia have the water it needs for daily use, or should the mussels living in Alabama and Florida have its way? To me, I don't really care. This just needs to be fixed immediately. And I will check the levels for Lake Lanier until they come back to normality.

Also, I put this post in the Georgia Carnival. Please go check it out! Thanks!

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I'm listening to The Fray - Vienna.