DroughtTuesday, November 10
The Army Corps has begun drought operations, and Lake Lanier is more than eight feet below full pool
The Morning Marietta team
If you spend time on Lake Lanier, take note: the Army Corps of Engineers began drought operations Nov. 2 across the basin that includes the lake. The Corps is urging people at federal reservoirs to wear life jackets and watch for underwater obstructions that may not normally be visible.
More than 8 feetLake Lanier's level below full pool this week
The Corps has limited Lanier releases for months, sending out only enough for water supply and water quality in the Chattahoochee.
Source: WABE
Metro Atlanta utilities aren't in trouble. "We're not on the verge of running out of water," said Danny Johnson, director of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. Under drought operations, the Corps will release less water into the Apalachicola River at the Florida border to save more in its reservoirs.
- Drought began: around July 2025, according to the Army Corps
- West Point Lake is low; Walter F. George is getting low
- Short-term forecast: normal to below-normal rainfall
- Winter outlook: El Niño could bring more rain, with no guarantee
Dry months have piled up around Lake Lanier
- 19 inches
- less rain than normal in Gainesville area in 25 months
- Nov. 2
- when the Corps began drought operations in the basin
- Level 1
- drought response the state declared earlier this year
Sources: WABE, WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta
“The timing of the rainfall is the important point.”
Sources: WABE, WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta