BUFORD - Campgrounds around Lake Lanier are expected to be full this holiday weekend but you can't say the same about some of the designated swim areas.
"A lot of (them) only have a foot or so of water left in them...or in some cases the swim line may actually be on dry sand," according to Michael Lapina, the chief park ranger for the Buford office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We don't recommend that you swim past that swim line but if they do choose to that folks should wear life jackets."
The level of the lake has been dropping steadily this summer because of the drought. It was also impacted by a faulty Corps' gauge .
Lapina also says that "beyond those swim lines, it may be a nice gradual slope in some areas (but) in other areas, it can be dropoffs, so, folks need to use caution."
Stepping into deep dropoffs has been a frequent factor in drownings at swim areas on Lanier.
Lapina Thursday issued another reminder to boaters about submerged objects that come into play when the lake level is low. He said the Corps has placed temporary orange buoys to mark some of the areas in question. He warned boaters to be especially careful when taking shortcuts between islands where, under normal conditions, the water level may be several feet over rock outcroppings.
The level of the lake early Thursday morning was 1062.64. On July 4, it was 1065.53 and Memorial Day, 1068.40. Full pool is 1071.0, meaning the lake is now 8.36 feet below that.
Sunday
October 13th, 2024
6:25AM
