There’s more to this than the purple backclimber- although Boortz keeps harping on the backclimber. Lake Lanier is not the only resevoir along the system. There is also Lake Seminole. The system also provides drinking water, agricultural irrigation and electricity to people in Alabama, South Georgia and Florida.
Ultimately it comes down to poor planning, which is the Georgia way. Everyone saw this problem coming a mile away and yet what have city and state officials done to prepare? Florida cities have been installing reclaimed systems for irrigation, and have already eliminated their combined sewer systems.
Atlanta was about as prepared for this predicatble crisis as New Orleans was for Katrina. Like Nagin and Blanco, the Georgia people are blaming everyone else.
Concur. However, the needs other than “mussel support” would require the release of far less than the 2,000,000,000 (two billion) gallons currently being released from the reservoir daily.
And, I agree that Atlanta, and metro Atlanta, has been a ship of fools for the last 40 years. We will die at the hands of environmentalism and mindless boosterism inflicted on the region with no regard for consequence.
Extreme over development in the Atlanta region causes a dome of hot air. You can watch rain systems go around us. They keep paving and developing and the yankees keep-a-coming. I think the region should be depopulated on a last in, first out basis!