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. Earlier this year they discovered a faulty gauge that had been over releasing millions of gallons for who know how long. Oops was all that was said or done about it.
Gotta take care of the purple bankclimber, yanno.
What should have been done about it?
It is crazy. And it was reported as a major humanitarian gesture that Stone Mountain did not make it’s snow this year! I had a lady yesterday tell me that she STILL saw a commercial site watering.
The thing is, if everyone cooperated, doing individual things, it would make a difference.
They are saying we have 80 days of drinking water left. It took FOUR years to fill the lake up after they built the dam in the 50’s, with the dam fully closed and “normal” weather!
One of the big reasons we are being bled dry is to protect some endangered mussels in Florida/Alabama as mandated by Federal Environmental Law.
The officer in charge of
the Mobile District which include Lake Lanier is one Col. Byron Jorns. Looks like
a pretty good career officer.
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/NewsReleases/2007/07-42%20change%20of%20command.pdf
His last command before this one was commander of the Nashville District where he
was personally named in a lawsuit by an environmental group:
http://www.kwalliance.org/news/nwp21complaint.pdf
Don’t know how it was resolved.
My guess is that he won’t stop sending water to the mussels without a change
in the law or a presidential pardon! He needs a “get out of jail free”
letter. President Bush, Help!
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.
My brother lives in the area and says, “Now is the time to take some heavy equipment into the lakes and actually make them deeper. Lanier is always dirty because it is so shallow.” So, why not make them deeper when they are bone dry?