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The problem here is not that we don’t have water, it is that we are letting all that we captured go thanks to the ineptitude of the COE.

I grew up 10 miles from Buford Dam on Lake Lanier. The original purpose for Lake Lanier was for power generation and flood control. Ditto Lake Alatoona. Drinking water and recreation are secondary purposes as cited in the original plan. The state, county and municipal governments agreed to that back in the 1950's before either lake was built. Now that the politico's have mismanaged growth for decades and they've created a water shortage, they want to blame the COE. Meanwhile, as Atlanta runs out of water, unbridled new home construction continues as it has for decades, despite water restrictions, sewer moratoriums, etc. A well placed stack of dead Presidents will get you any permit you need in the 'burbs of Atlanta and it's been that way for at least 30 years that I'm aware of. It's hard for this former Georgian to have much sympathy for those in and around Atlanta when the problems they face were almost completely brought on by their own actions. Oh, and don't expect that same COE to permit a water line from the Tennessee River. That ain't gonna happen.

Putting Atlanta's water woes at the feet of the COE is ignoring the real problem, which is too much growth with too few water resources. This has been known for at least 25 years, yet the growth was allowed to continue. IOW, the powers that be set themselves up for this water shortage.

have much sympathy for those in and around Atlanta when the problems they face were almost completely brought on by their own actions.

I must say yours is one of the most ignorant and obnoxious comments I've seen here in a while. How should the ordinary people living here accept the blame for the actions of their government? Did we elect them? Hell no. For the most part government officials are not elected, but hired by other government bureaucrats,* and if you don't like something that the government does, tough s**t, They'll do it anyway. BTW the COE is releasing water at four times the rate of what is flowing in using Lake Lanier to keep the lower river at at artificially higher level. If there were no dam at all, then the lower river would have a lot less water in it.

*Look at the federal government for example. There are about 18,000,000. How many are elected? 537.