Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The water level at Lake Lanier continues to decline as drought conditions persists throughout the southeast.



As of Thursday, Sept. 22, the lake was at about 1062 feet above mean sea level (msl).

That is 8 feet below full pool of 1,071.

As the weekend approaches, the National Weather Service did predict showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm for the Forsyth County area, but the rainfall amounts will be between a quarter and half of an inch, nearly not enough to significantly affect levels at Lake Lanier.

Lower lake levels have caused the Corps to curtail some of its operations.

Permit requests for new private docks and upgrades to existing private docks will not be accepted until the lake level rises above 1064 (msl).

"This is in accordance with the Lake Lanier Low Water Action Plan and is an action we have had to take several times in the past under similar drought conditions.We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but it is important to be able to properly address requests with adequate water to make informed decisions," said Lisa Coghlan, deputy public affairs officer.

The Corps advises boaters to take extra precaution due to lower lake levels.

Boaters should be especially observant for underwater obstructions such as shallow areas, rocks, stumps and trees.

For additional information contact the Corps at 770-945-9531. For daily lake level information call 770-945-1467. Thirty-day lake level forecasts and historical lake level information can be viewed on the Corps water management website http://water.sam.usace.army.mil.

Labels: Lake Lanier, water levels, Water Restrictions

The drought is over in metro Atlanta — three years after it began and more than a year after a dwindling Lake Lanier made national news.

State climatologist David Stooksbury made the declaration Monday.
But keep those rusty sprinklers in the garage. Outdoor watering restrictions will remain indefinitely because Lanier is still recovering and still stands more than 9 feet below full. The lake is the water source for more than 3 million metro Atlantans.

“Soil moisture is near normal, stream flows are near normal. Small and medium-sized reservoirs are full,” Stooksbury said. “But there is still the 500-pound gorilla sitting in the room and that’s Lanier.”

Atlanta is still more than an inch below normal rainfall this year. But this is the first time the drought has loosened the vise-like grip that reignited the water war with Alabama and Florida.

According to state rules, it takes four months of improved conditions to end outdoor watering restrictions, though they have been eased. March counts as the first month, Stooksbury said.

State Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch, who makes the call on watering restrictions, said Monday it will take a lot more rain to pull Lanier out of the hole. She doesn’t expect that to happen this year and may ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Lanier, to release only a minimum amount through the summer.

Labels: Atlanta, Drought, Georgia, Lake Lanier, Water Restrictions

Fulton County eased its outdoor watering rules so property owners now can hand water for 25 minutes per day three days a week. Since Alpharetta voted to peg its rules to Fulton County's regulations, city residents also can water more often.

The new guidelines took effect May 9.

Property owners can hand water for 25 minutes between midnight and 10 a.m. on the odd/even watering schedule. Under this schedule, even and unnumbered addresses may water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Hand watering is defined as one person using one hose with an automatic shutoff nozzle.

The exemption for new landscape installations has also been eased. New landscape installations may now be watered three days per week between midnight and 10 a.m.a on the odd/even schedule for a period of 10 weeks following installation. Under this schedule, even and unnumbered addresses may water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Irrigation systems may be used to water newly-installed landscaping, but only between the hours of midnight and 10 a.m.

To qualify for the new landscape exemption, the customer must enroll and successfully complete the Urban Agriculture Council's registration program. The program is available online at www.urbanagcouncil.com or by contacting the Fulton County Extension Service at 404-612-7000. Forms obtained from the course along with a Fulton County Landscape Exemption form and a purchase receipt for the landscaping must be prominently displayed at the property.

Newly installed landscape refers to turf, ornamentals, annuals and containerized plants installed within the last 30 days.

A complete copy of the updated outdoor water use restrictions is available at www.alpharetta.ga.us, by selecting the Level 4 Drought link.

Labels: Alpharetta, Fulton County, Water Restrictions

Get out the garden hose and pull back that pool cover. Starting April 1, Alpharettans might be able to hand water their lawns and fill up their pools starting April 1, if the Fulton County Board of Commissioners relaxes its watering rules this week.

North Georgia still is in drought conditions, so residents will only get one time a week for less than 30 minutes to hand water their yards.



Recommendations sent to Fulton Commissioners were to allow:
• Hand watering 25 minutes, one day per week.
• Filling outdoor swimming pools.
• A one time watering newly installed landscaping three-nights-a-week for 30 days. Register at www.urbanagcouncil.com

City Council members rushed to remind residents conservation is still needed. Fulton County staff recommended tighter restrictions than the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) requires. That was necessary to make sure the county met an EPD requirement to reduce water use by 10 percent compared to 2007 usage.

Mayor Arthur Letchas brought the proposal before council.

"We still aren't going to take our eyes off the target as far as removing our water restrictions. But we would like to fall in line with the EPD and Fulton County water restrictions," Letchas said.

Councilman David Belle Isle, who grew up in Gainesville, said as a child he saw some low lake levels. But nothing compares to how low the lake is today.

"The docks are on the ground," he said. "You think because we've had some rain it's fine – but it's not fine," Belle Isle said.

Labels: Fulton, Fulton County, North Fulton, water, Water Ban, Water Restrictions

Georgia's landscaping industry has been hard hit by drought and a resulting outdoor watering ban, but Gov. Sonny Perdue provided some relief Wednesday by announcing the state would ease watering restrictions.

The new plan, which Perdue said would strengthen the state's landscaping industry, allows plants to be handwatered for 25 minutes every other day for three days a week.

New, professionally installed landscapes also may be watered up to three days a week for 10 weeks. Those wishing to water new, professionally installed landscaping must register through the online Outdoor Water Use Registration Program.

"Our state will strike a strong balance between water conservation, economic solvency and giving our growers in this state the tools they need to make this state greener and more prosperous in the future," Perdue said. "We need to come together to support an industry that is so important to our state."

Perdue also was expected to issue an announcement Wednesday on outdoor swimming pools. Pool companies have been concerned that the outdoor water ban would force swimming pools around north Georgia to go unfilled during the summer.

Severe drought compelled the state last fall to ban outdoor watering in north Georgia and order public water providers in the region to cut their water withdrawals by 10 percent.

Landscapers have been pushing the state to ease the restrictions before spring, their busiest season. Their lobbyists estimate that more than 14,000 employees have already lost their jobs due to the drought, which forced well-known Atlanta company Pike Nursery Holding into bankruptcy.

John Strickland of Organic Growing Systems in Atlanta said Perdue's exemptions would allow the state's $8 billion landscaping industry to avoid financial extinction.

"We look at springtime in our industry -- that's our Christmas," Strickland said. "Consumers are actually scared to invest in a plant where they are not sure if it's going to die or not. If we follow these rules, the consumer confidence will come up."

The 61 north Georgia counties under the Level 4 drought restrictions, which began in September, will be required to achieve Perdue's reduction goal of at least 10 percent.

The 10 percent water reduction will be calculated using last year's April to September average monthly water use.

Labels: Sonny Perdue, water, Water Ban, Water Restrictions

Gov. Sonny Perdue and other government officials stood on landlocked boat ramps Oct. 20 at Mary Alice Park on Lake Lanier to declare a state of emergency in 85 of Georgia's counties due to the prolonged drought.

Perdue has also asked President Bush to declare a major disaster area in an effort to exempt the state from complying with the water reservoir releases that could cause "catastrophic harm."

"This drought is a natural disaster," Perdue said. "We are experiencing the worst drought in North Georgia's history. On top of that, we are also mired in a frustrating manmade disaster of Federal bureaucracy. The actions of the Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife services are not only irresponsible, but downright dangerous. And Georgia cannot stand for this negligence."

Perdue said more than 3.2 million gallons of water are released daily out of the Georgia reservoirs.

"That's enough to fill three and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools every minute," he said. "Even the consultation periods of changing these policies are just fiddling while Rome burns. Georgia needs action today."

On Oct. 19, Perdue filed an injunction with the Middle District of Florida Federal Court requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from Lanier and federal reservoirs.

"We need to cut through the tangle of unnecessary bureaucracy to manage our resources so that in the long term all species may have access to clean water," he said.

Perdue said current laws prohibit even heavy rains from helping the situation.

"The sad part is that if we got relieving rains," he said, "we could not save it. These are the silly parts of rules that we need to get around. That's why people have no confidence in government."

Rep. Nathan Deal agreed this was a "serious situation."

"This is a situation we have not confronted in a very long time," he said. "It is important to work with the federal government to find an immediate solution."

Millions of gallons of water have been shipped downstream in an effort to preserve endangered species of mussels. Many government officials said this has to stop.

"Wildlife officials have decided that mussels are more important than our children and grandchildren," said Rep. John Linder. "This is a serious problem."

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle agreed.

"This is not a situation we cannot conserve our way out of," he said. "The idea that individuals would put mussels in front of human consumption is absolutely and utterly ridiculous."

Jonathan Davis, operations manager for the Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Lanier, said the morning before Perdue's declaration that the Corps doesn't have the authority to deviate from the law in its mandated water releases that include protecting endangered species.

"But it does not mean we are doing it blindly and we are not aware of the impacts of that – that's my job and I can assure you I am doing that," he said.

The Corps is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-examine its study on endangered mussels and sturgeon downstream in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin, he said.

Perdue compared a lack of action to the situation Louisiana faced when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

"In asking for this disaster declaration, this is exactly what we failed to do in Katrina," he said. "The state of Louisiana was criticized for not asking for a declaration of disaster soon enough so our federal partners could get involved."

While Georgians are being forced to adhere to water restrictions, Perdue said it was wrong to allow Alabama and Florida residents to live without such restrictions.

"No one is sacrificing," he said. "No one is sharing the pain like the people in North Georgia are."

Perdue said Georgians will do what it takes to conserve water.

"Georgians will step up to the plate and do what it takes to conserve our previous resources," he said. "We need our federal partners to do the same and not continue to ship this water downstream when it is needed drastically here."

Carol Couch, Director of the Environmental Protection Division, said drinking water could become very scarce within 80 days.

"This is a natural disaster that did not happen overnight," she said. "This is something that happened slowly. We need the President to declare this as a disaster. It will be a multiple front effort that needs the federal government's help."

If water levels continue to drop, so will the certainty of clean water. Couch said water below a certain level requires further treatment and the quality at that level is unsure.

Lake Lanier will not run dry in just a few months, Davis told members of the Alpharetta Rotary Club, which includes several local elected officials.

Davis said the lake stores water in what is called its normal pool at 1,071 feet. The amount of water down to 1,035 feet is its conservation pool.

Corps experts in Mobile, Ala., who decide what flow of water should be released from the lake, calculated 100 days of water were left as of Oct. 19 before the lake got down to 1,035 feet.

"From 1,035 down to the bottom of the lake is still 100 feet of water," Davis said. "In other words, the lake will not be dry in 100 days."

Perdue said he was "confident" there would be a positive outcome for Georgia in this situation.

"We will emerge from this disaster stronger than before with a solution that will benefit all of Georgia's interests for years to come," he said.

For now, Perdue said Georgia will continue their conservation efforts to preserve water throughout the state.

Labels: Lake Lanier, Water Ban, Water Restrictions

There's a storm brewing in northern Milton over water - but unlike the rest of the state, it's not over the lack of it. On Pritchard Mountain, water pressure is the issue.

The fight is over a proposed elevated water tank near the under-construction Hampshires subdivision, located west of Freemanville Road near the intersection of Mountain Road. If built, it would tower over existing homes in the area.

And that's what sets off Wayne Super. He lives less than 100 feet from the proposed site and has started an online petition to stop construction of the tank, which petitioners say will adversely affect properties. At press time, he had 71 signatures.

In its place, he proposes the construction of a low-rise pumping solution that will, according to himself and experts with whom he was worked, fulfill all the requisite safety requirements for adequate, reliable water service.

"We're trying to create a positive solution," he said. "We're not opposing something for safety."

Though Pritchard Mountain is really just a big hill, it is the highest point in the county, said Mike Rachelson, project manager for Fulton County.

That means the existing homes and those proposed for development in the area would be higher the 1,150 feet of elevation cap for water service without a gravity tank, said Chris Browning, Deputy Director of Public Works for the county. But Pritchard Mountain is a pretty small area.


"Therefore, the long-range plan was to serve that area using a separate pressure zone when the area developed," he said.

In 2005, the county entered into an agreement with developers who wanted to put homes at those areas of higher elevation than water service would allow. Under the terms, the builders put in a $3.7 million water booster system for temporary service until a tank could be constructed, said Browning.

So now, the plan is to build a 500,000-gallon tank with an overflow elevation - the maximum height of the water in the tank - 105 feet higher than the existing Freemanville Road tank to ensure no chance of failure. The tank simply uses gravity, no mechanical means that might fail.

The new tank would increase the available water pressure for most residents to about 60 pounds per square inch -- the county minimum -- and cost approximately $1.2 million. It will be housed on existing county-owned property beside the existing Freemanville Road tank.

Super said the 150-foot tank is an unnecessary and unpopular means of redundancy.

"We have reasonable reliability [with the low-rise solution], not perfection," he said. "There is a cost associated with perfection, and the constituents don't want it."

Super also said there are a number of other factors that could decrease the need for the high-rise tank. Many homes are on well water, for instance.

Browning countered and said that were the pumping station to burn down, there would be no water service to the homes that need it. And the county is not willing to risk that.

"The likelihood of a widespread water outage are much less when customers are served by a gravity water system," he said.

Labels: Fulton, Fulton County, water, Water Restrictions, Water Tower

Lake Lanier continues to shrink in level. The water level is now about 15 feet below normal.

Labels: Drought, Lake Lanier, water, Water Ban, Water Restrictions

ATLANTA - Governor Sonny Perdue today directed the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to modify current surface water and groundwater withdrawal and drinking water permits to achieve a 10 percent reduction in withdrawals for permit holders in the 61 North Georgia counties covered under the Level 4 drought designation. Permit holders will be required to reduce water withdrawals by 10 percent compared to the permit holder's water usage of the last winter season (beginning of December 2006 through end of March 2007). The new restrictions are effective when the EPD director notifies all permit holders in writing. The permit modifications apply to all non-farm permit holders.

"In this unprecedented drought, we all have to pitch in and find ways to conserve our most precious resource," Governor Sonny Perdue said. "A 10 percent reduction in water use is a first step, and we will continue to evaluate our drought response and encourage additional conservation as needed."

The revised permit restrictions will be in place beginning November 1 and will continue as necessary. Georgia EPD will enforce permit restrictions and impose fines for noncompliance.

"Many communities already have successful conservation programs in place," said Governor Perdue. "I encourage all Georgians to make their dry lawns and dirty cars a badge of honor. By making individual conservation efforts, along with reasonable solutions from our federal government, we can collectively help to ensure that our water supply is sufficient."

The 61 counties included in the Level 4 drought declaration include: Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Elbert, Fannin, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gilmer, Gordon, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Harris, Hart, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Rabun, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Towns, Troup, Union, Walker, Walton, White, Whitfield and Wilkes.

This directive is the latest step taken to help Georgians through the worst drought in the state's history. The northern third of Georgia is under Level 4 drought restrictions, or a complete outdoor watering ban. Georgia's major federal reservoirs, such as West Point Lake and Lake Lanier, continue to dwindle as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sends billions of gallons of water downstream every day despite the impact their actions will have on Georgia's water supply and its citizens.

On Saturday, October 20, Governor Perdue signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 85 counties in Georgia due to the historic drought. Governor Perdue also sent a letter to President Bush outlining steps the state has taken to minimize the impact of the drought and emphasizing the increasingly severe threat to Georgia businesses, industry, economic stability and the health and safety of Georgia citizens. He requested President Bush to temporarily exempt the state of Georgia from the Endangered Species Act to reduce the flows from Georgia reservoirs and preserve Georgia's precious water resources.

On Friday, October 19, Governor Perdue filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the Middle District of Florida Federal Court requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from Lake Lanier and Georgia's federal reservoirs.

Labels: Sonny Perdue, water, Water Ban, Water Restrictions

ALPHARETTA (AP) -- The city of Alpharetta has tightened its water restrictions, making them stricter than those mandated by the state.

The City Council approved a measure Monday that bans the watering of newly installed landscaping on residential or commercial property, even if the landscaping was installed by a professional.

The new ordinance allows Alpharetta police officers to issue criminal citations. It also empowers officers to inspect property to make sure people are complying with the watering ban.

To cope with the epic drought, Georgia officials in September banned virtually all outdoor watering in the northern part of the state and have warned that more restrictions could be coming.

Labels: Alpharetta, water, Water Ban, Water Restrictions