Officials expect a lively, crowded lake for holiday

Debbie Gilbert - The Gainesville Times

Date: 7/4/2008

Don’t expect solitude if you go to Lake Lanier this weekend. Despite the lake level being almost 15 feet below full pool, officials anticipate crowds today and throughout the July Fourth holiday weekend. Michael Lapina, a ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Buford Dam, believes many people will take… Read More

States thirst for water taps reservoir of competing needs

Staff Writer - The Greenville News

Date: 6/29/2008

ATHENS, Ga. -- Northeast Georgia is in a severe drought, and here on the banks of the Oconee River, signs are anything but subtle. "We are running out of water!" declared a notice in a West Broad Street hotel lobby. To underscore the point, it included photos of the town's primary reservoir, which had dropped to a much… Read More

New Lake Lanier resort planned

Michael Perason - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Date: 6/26/2008

Suwanee developer Virgil Williams and his family have pumped nearly $40 million into renovating Lake Lanier Islands resort in the past two years. Now, the family enterprise wants to build a new nearby resort community called Big Creek Resort. The Williams family has filed for regional approval of a plan to build 684… Read More

Lake Lanier report: Lake levels near new record low

Eric Aldrich - The Gainesville Times

Date: 6/26/2008

Lake Temperatures are in the mid 80’s. The lake is dropping about an inch a day and we are down 14.5 feet at 1056.5. If we don’t get significant rain we will probably hit a new record low lake level this year. The water is stained on the weekends from boat traffic and lightly stained-to-clear during the week. The… Read More

Talk of damming Flint River stirs anger

Stacy Shelton - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Date: 6/26/2008

As north Georgia enters its third summer of record-setting drought, decision-makers are turning again to reservoirs: damming streams to store more water against future dry spells. Environmental groups are preparing to fight another battle over the Flint River, one of the state's longest stretches of free-flowing water… Read More