Reduced flows from Lanier to end Tuesday

ATLANTA - The reduced flows from Lake Lanier, which were instituted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last Dec. 22 at the request of the state, will be ending next Tuesday, a state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) spokesman said Thursday.

"The flow reduction is scheduled to expire April 30," Kevin Chambers said.

The initial request from DNR was made in October. At that time, the corps denied the request and agreed to re-evaluate it monthly.

According to the corps, conditions in the river system didn't meet criteria for the request in November and earlier in December. But, by Dec. 21, the corps said conditions in the middle and lower Appalachiacola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin reservoirs had improved slightly.

"Given the current basin conditions and hydrologic forecasts, the requested flow reduction from 750 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 650 cfs is a prudent action to conserve system storage," Mobile District Public Affairs Officer E. Patrick Robbins said at the time.

At the time the reduced releases began, the level of the lake was 1056.67, well below winter full pool which is 1070 - and the area was in the throes of a drought. But, Thursday morning, thanks in large part to beneficial winter and early spring rains, the level had risen to 1071.33, which is a third of a foot higher than summer full pool.