In a continued effort to keep the public safe, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made the decision Monday to close Lower Pool West Park, which is located directly below Buford Dam.
Nick Baggett, the Natural Resource Manager for Lake Lanier, said despite repeated reminders to stay away from the Chattahoochee River during the temporary around-the-clock releases from the dam, people were still getting in the water.
"This is kind of a unique situation and we want to protect the public in that area," Baggett said. "We have left the opposite side of the river open - the Lower Pool East Park...that will allow access for fishermen and those who are walking the Lower Ridge Trail."
The point, though, is to keep swimmers - or even waders - out of the river, since water is being released through the dam 24 hours a day in order to draw down the level of Lake Lanier.
"The turbulent flow of the river is very dangerous and no one should be on that section of the river from our dam al the way down to the Highway 20 bridge," Baggett said.
Baggett said rangers have reported recently that they have seen unattended children wading along the edge of the river during generation times; again, Baggett said that is unsafe, since the flow of the river is extra strong.
USACE parks remain closed around Lake Lanier
Baggett also noted that 17 of the 18 Corps-managed parks with swimming areas remain closed until further notice. That's because water levels on Lanier remain more than three feet above full pool, making the swim areas unsafe for swimming.
As far as bacterial levels in the water, Baggett said Corps staff isn't even doing any testing right now, since the areas are close to swimmers, anyway.
"You have to use a common sense approach when swimming in any body of water, whether it be Lake Lanier or another lake or another river system," Baggett said. "We've had some heavy rainfalls, so you may have things flowing in the lake - you may not. You just have to use common sense."
Health officials advise if you're worried about the cleanliness of any body of water to make sure you don't swallow any of it during a swim. They also say it's a good idea to avoid the water if you have open cuts on your skin to prevent infection.
