CUMMING - Lake Lanier is down 9 feet and dropping at a rate of about a foot a week, rekindling memories of the great drought of 2007-2009 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drained 20 feet out of Lanier.
That has some businesses concerned that low water levels could also drain the local economy.
Some fear the lake will continue to sink with a dry winter in the forecast and next summer could be as disastrous as 2008. That year, Lanier was down 15 feet and tourism was off by about 880,000 visitors. Recreation revenue was down $90.2 million.
A year earlier, the lake had dropped to an all-time low of 1050.77 on December 28. Full pool is 1071 and that was not reached again for two more years. The level early Monday was 1062.10.
``They've been dropping it like crazy for the last 15 days and it's got people scared,'' said boat mechanic Don Hunt, 54, who was working at Holiday Marina last week.
``I know Atlanta needs the water, but they can't be letting it out that fast,'' Hunt said.
Corps spokesman E. Patrick Robbins said the agency can't predict how low Lanier might go.
Authorities said the Corps will continue to release as much water as needed to replenish streams.
``In the upcoming year it is possible that we could be looking at very low levels again, but that is too far out to make any predictions,'' Robbins said. ``It will all be dependent on what occurs during the winter and spring months, normally the wettest.''
The 38,000-acre lake draws about 7.5 million visitors a year.
(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)
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July 5th, 2025
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