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Lake Lanier (officially Lake Sidney Lanier) is a
reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the northern portion of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. It was created by the completion of
Buford Dam Buford Dam is a dam in Buford, Georgia which is located at the southern end of Lake Lanier, a reservoir formed by the construction of the dam in 1956. The dam itself is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is made of ...
on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the
Chestatee River The Chestatee River (variant spellings Chestatie, Chestetee, Chostatee, Chosteta, Chestotee; none in modern use) is a file geodatabase (GDB) at ftp://rockyftp.cr.usgs.gov/vdelivery/Datasets/Staged/Hydro/FileGDB101/ river in the Appalachian Mountain ...
. The lake encompasses or of water, and of
shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
line at normal level, a "full pool" of
above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...
and the exact shoreline varies by resolution according to the
coastline paradox The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines; i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fr ...
. Named for
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
, it was built and is operated by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
for flood control and water supplies. Its construction destroyed more than of farmland and displaced more than 250 families, 15 businesses, and relocated 20 cemeteries along with their corpses in the process. It is patrolled by the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and has fiv ...
(GDNR), as well as local law enforcement. The states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida all have rights to the water of the reservoir, as it feeds rivers going through those areas. The Corps of Engineers has responsibilities to regulate flow for flood control and water use. In addition, it has to ensure that water is available to fulfill such federal mandates as under the Endangered Species Act, to support downstream species. The rapid suburbanization of the Atlanta region, in particular, has greatly increased water consumption by private homeowners for lawns and gardens. During droughts of the 21st century, Lake Lanier reached record lows, and regional actions have been needed to reduce area water usage.


Geography

The lake is in Hall,
Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...
, Dawson,
Gwinnett Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...
, and Lumpkin
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, split about 60%, 30%, 5%, 4%, and 1%, respectively, filling the valley into numerous small arms and fingers. The former
thalweg In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boun ...
of the Chestatee and the Chattahoochee south of it form the county line between Hall and a corner of Gwinnett to the east, and Dawson and Forsyth counties to the west. The land that now sits at the bottom of Lake Lanier was, before the 1950s, forest and farmland. Before the lake was completely filled, construction crews felled the treetops, leaving tall stumps to remain, in some areas, not far beneath the lake's surface. One of the main purposes of the lake is
flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
of the Chattahoochee River downstream, mainly protecting
metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
. Since the construction of Buford Dam, there have been only three major flooding events on the downstream section. The most severe flooding event was in 2009, following a two-year drought; the most recent was in 2013.


Prior history

Prior to the groundbreaking of the reservoir in 1950, the town of Oscarville occupied a part of the current location of the lake. Oscarville was a small community and the site of a 1912 lynching, which resulted in the forced displacement of all 1,100 Black people from Forsyth County by the White residents. The Black residents comprised about 10 percent of the population at the time. The current Black population is about 4 percent of the area's population.


Reservoir

The lake's original purposes were to provide hydroelectricity, navigation, and flood control of the Chattahoochee River, and water supply for the city of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. The $1 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ) project was authorized by Congress in 1946, and Buford Dam broke ground on March 1, 1950. A stretch of Georgia Highway 53 had to be abandoned that ran too close to the planned shoreline. Gainesville's Looper Speedway was also condemned and abandoned. More than $2 million (equivalent to $ million in ) had been spent by the Corps on preliminary construction when the
House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a List of current United States House of Representatives committees, committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing Appropriations bill (United State ...
refused to provide more funds in June 1951. During that summer Atlanta mayor William Hartsfield traveled to Washington numerous times pressing southern Democratic Senators
Richard Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for alm ...
and Walter F. George to restore funding to ensure Atlanta's water supply during droughts. Hartsfield returned to Washington in 1955 to lobby for $11 million (equivalent to $ million in ) more for the dam, which had a target completion date of 1956, again stressing the importance of an adequate water supply for his growing city. Congress approved the funds, and the dam was completed and opened on schedule. On February 1, 1956, Lake Lanier began filling when the
sluice gates Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...
of Buford Dam were closed. The dam began operation between June and October 1957, and that same year,
Morgan Falls Dam Bull Sluice Lake is created by Morgan Falls Dam, a small hydroelectric dam located along the Chattahoochee River at the northern end of Sandy Springs, Georgia, and crossing the river westwards into eastern Cobb County in north metro Atlanta. Ori ...
, located downstream, was raised to regulate the flow from Buford Dam and regulate the flow of water to Atlanta. Buford Dam was dedicated on October 9, 1957 in a ceremony officiated by a number of elected officials, including U.S. Senator
Richard B. Russell Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almo ...
, Georgia Governor
Marvin Griffin Samuel Marvin Griffin, Sr. (September 4, 1907 – June 13, 1982) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. A lifelong Democrat, Griffin was a native of Bainbridge, Georgia and publisher of the ''Bainbridge Post-Searchligh ...
, and Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield. Lake Lanier reached its intended full-pool level on August 1, 1958, approximately one year later than initially expected due to droughts. In early fall of 1958, the region had two solid months of drought, which would have left the Chattahoochee and its tributaries nearly dry, if not for the construction of Buford Dam and the reserve of Lake Lanier. Since the 1990s, the Corps of Engineers, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have all been fighting for use of the water held in Lake Lanier. Federal law mandates that when a river flows between two or more states, each state has a right to an equal share of the water. Additionally, laws such as the Endangered Species Act require that water be available to preserve and support the threatened or endangered species that live in or around Chattahoochee River and
Apalachicola Bay Apalachicola may refer to: * Apalachicola people, a group of Native Americans who lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida Places * Apalachicola, Florida *Apalachicola River * Apalachicola Bay * Apalachicola National Forest * Apa ...
. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Dam has a current installed capacity of 126 megawatts and a hydraulic head of 136 feet. Other pertinent information on the reservoir, power plant, etc. can be found on the Mobile District Corps of Engineers web site. Also, historic operational information on lake elevations, discharges, inflows and power generation for all the Corps projects on the ACF are available.


Drought 2007–2009

In June 2006, the
USACE , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
revealed that the new lake gauge at the dam, replaced in December 2005, was not properly calibrated, yielding a lake level reading nearly two feet (over half a meter) higher than the actual level. Because of this, nearly 22 billion U.S. gallons (over 82 billion liters) of excess water had been released. This was above the already planned excess releases to support the successful spawning of gulf sturgeon in the Apalachicola River and to protect several species of
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
s in
Apalachicola Bay Apalachicola may refer to: * Apalachicola people, a group of Native Americans who lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida Places * Apalachicola, Florida *Apalachicola River * Apalachicola Bay * Apalachicola National Forest * Apa ...
from excessive
saltwater intrusion Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to groundwater quality degradation, including drinking water sources, and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion can naturally occur in coastal aquifers, ...
. Georgia Governor
Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...
said that the Corps had created a "manmade
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
", because most of the state was already having dry conditions. This came at a time when outdoor water-use restrictions were being put in place by local governments. The high rate of suburban growth in the area resulted in a high rate of water consumption to care for the many lawns which had replaced forests. Because of the error in managing Lake Lanier, the governor's office declared a drought and enacted a ban on outdoor water use from 10 am to 4 pm, in addition to the permanent weekly odd/even address system. Other local counties imposed further restrictions or total bans, based on each water system's conditions. Outdoor watering was banned completely as the state suffered the worst drought in its recorded history. On October 16, 2007, Governor Perdue gave the USACE until the evening of October 17 to come up with a plan for the continued release of water for Florida wildlife. Senator Johnny Isakson stood before the Georgia General Assembly saying, "The health, safety and welfare of people are threatened. They are threatened by an act this Congress passed that had no intention to threaten them." He eventually withdrew his threat to sue the Corps of Engineers, but the Lake Lanier Association indicated that it would file a private legal action. Governor Perdue's attempts to reach an agreement with Florida over water releases fell through, leaving the final decision on releases from the lake to be made by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
. On November 22, 2007, the water level was at , setting a new record low. The previous low was , set in December 1981. One month later, the water level stabilized around a final low of , recorded December 26, 2007 at Buford Dam. The day after Christmas, the water level began rising from week to week. Eventually after winter rains, on February 18, 2008, the water level of Lake Lanier rose to , higher than the December 1981 level of , effectively ending the record-low phase of the drought crisis. A similar drought situation occurred in late 2008. At the end of the year, the water level stabilized around a final low of , recorded December 8, 2008, at Buford Dam, slightly above the record set in 2007. After rainfall during the winter of 2008–2009, on March 30, 2009, the climatologist of the state of Georgia, David Stooksbury, declared the drought over, noting: "soil moisture is near normal, stream flows are near normal. Small and medium-sized reservoirs are full." Stooksbury continued, "There is still the 500-pound gorilla sitting in the room and that’s Lanier." In May 2009, the water level of Lake Lanier rose to exceed , reaching a high of in mid-June 2009. It did not reach the full summer pool of during mid-2009, remaining more than lower. Following weeks of heavy rain in North Georgia, Lake Lanier returned to full pool in mid-October 2009. The record high is set in April 1964. The record-low lake levels had revealed parts of the lake bottom not seen since the 1950s, including remnants of a road and foundations of homes that had to be abandoned for the construction. More recent additions to the lake—including discarded trash, boat batteries and sunken boats—were discovered. Local efforts were organized to clean up the lake bottom. Several automobiles, some stolen, and discarded firearms were also recovered by law enforcement officials.


Lawsuits

In July 2009, a federal judge from Minnesota (chosen from a neutral location as an arbiter) ruled that Congress never authorized Lake Lanier to be used as a source of the
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
for
metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
. Georgia was given three years to stop withdrawing from the lake (except for the adjacent cities of Gainesville and
Buford Buford may refer to: Places United States *Buford, Arkansas *Buford, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Buford, Georgia *Buford Highway corridor, in Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties in Georgia * Buford, North Dakota *Buford, Ohio *Bufo ...
), unless Congress authorized it, or if it and the other two states using water from the reservoir came to agreement about use. The
Atlanta Regional Commission The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the metro Atlanta, Georgia, USA region, defined as the 11-county area of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, F ...
chairman noted that if enforced, cutting drinking water to 75% of current users in the region would require disaster aid from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
(FEMA). In June 2011, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the 2009 district court decision and confirmed the USACE's authority to regulate Lake Lanier for Atlanta's water supply. The Corps responded in June 2012 with plans for further analysis and evaluation of proposals from the three states. In 2013, Florida filed an original action against Georgia in the Supreme Court of the United States, requesting equitable apportionment of waters in the ACF Basin. On November 3, 2014, the Supreme Court granted Florida leave to file the complaint. On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed the complaint in a unanimous opinion, holding that Florida did not prove any serious injury caused by Georgia.


Recreation

The lake is popular with
boater __NOTOC__ A boater (also straw boater, basher, skimmer, The English Panama, cady, katie, canotier, somer, sennit hat, or in Japan, can-can hat, suruken) is a semi-formal summer hat for men, which was popularised in the late 19th century and e ...
s, houseboats,
jet-ski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...
ers and others, particularly around the summer holidays. Over 10 million people visit the lake annually, including its marinas and the
Lake Lanier Islands Lake Lanier Islands is a resort complex built on a small group of islands on Lake Lanier, the largest lake in Georgia, located 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The resort complex was established in 1974 and includes a hotel, water park, go ...
waterpark. The
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
and sprint canoeing events during the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
were held on the north end of the lake. It has since hosted many international events such as the 2003 ICF
Canoe Sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are s ...
World Championships, 2016 Pan American Sprint Canoe/Kayak Championships and the 2018 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships. The venue is host to many other events such as Food Truck Friday, ACRA Championships and the Atlanta Hong Kong
Dragon Boat Festival The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. Names The Engl ...
. Lake Lanier has over 90 corps, state, county and city parks spread around its 680 miles of shoreline, 23 of which provide swim beaches. All of these parks are accessible by land and some by water and most have other amenities such as picnic areas, restrooms, boat ramps and playgrounds. There are also dozens of beaches on Lake Lanier that are on islands located all over Lake Lanier.
Lake Lanier Islands Lake Lanier Islands is a resort complex built on a small group of islands on Lake Lanier, the largest lake in Georgia, located 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The resort complex was established in 1974 and includes a hotel, water park, go ...
is a resort complex on the lake, opened in 1974, that includes a resort hotel called Legacy Lodge (formerly Emerald Pointe Hotel), a water park, and a golf course, among other amenities. The complex also included a second resort hotel, PineIsle, which operated from 1975 to 2005, and was demolished in 2008. Both hotels were sold by CNL Hotels & Resorts, a hotel investment firm in Florida, to Georgia businessman Virgil Williams. In 2017–2018,
Margaritaville "Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album '' Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes''. This song was written about a drink Buffett discovered at Lung's Cocina del Sur restauran ...
was announced to take over Lanier Islands Park. Lake Lanier Islands sits on a ground lease from the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority, which was established by the Georgia General Assembly in 1962 to promote tourism development on the islands, and in turn leases the land from the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
. Lake Lanier was the site of the 1997 Bilderberg conference. Every year from mid-November through January, Lake Lanier Islands are decorated with over of Christmas lights, the largest animated light show in the southeast and one of the world's largest light shows. Magical Nights of Lights is an animated drive-through display that ends with a Christmas village, carnival rides, bonfire, Santa Shop, and live nativity. Due to the displaced cemeteries and unmarked graves Lake Lanier submerged during its creation, the body of water is rumored to be haunted with ghosts.


Effects of 21st-century droughts

At the end of 2007, the water level of Lake Lanier became notable, on a daily basis, for setting record-low levels. The dropping water level slowed to , as measured on November 17, 2007, after local rains continued and the water flow had been reduced at Buford Dam. However, water levels continued to decline almost daily during the month of December 2007. Further rains during November and December stabilized the water level at a low of on December 26, 2007, with the water level fluctuating up/down by about daily. On December 27, the water level began rising above the record low level, but fluctuating every few days, as affected by further rain and snow during December and January 2008. By the end of December 2007, the water level had risen more than to , rising more than 3 times faster than it had recently dropped. It reversed more than 18 days of losses within 5 days. Finally, on February 18, 2008, the water level of Lake Lanier had risen above the record-low levels set in November, rising to . This was higher than the December 1981 level of , effectively ending the record-low phase of the drought crisis. As of April 21, 2009, the lake had risen back to . Multiple rain storms further to the south, along the Chattahoochee River to
Apalachicola Bay Apalachicola may refer to: * Apalachicola people, a group of Native Americans who lived along the Apalachicola River in present-day Florida Places * Apalachicola, Florida *Apalachicola River * Apalachicola Bay * Apalachicola National Forest * Apa ...
, brought increased freshwater to the Florida wildlife in November and December 2007, despite the reduced water flow from Lake Lanier at Buford Dam. Rainfall along the lower Chattahoochee River was often greater overall than above Lake Lanier, as it spanned the longer length of the river. Metropolitan Atlanta received far above-average rainfall amounts throughout September and October 2009, and had record floods. On October 14, 2009, Lake Lanier had risen back to above-full pool at . The record high is , set in April 1964. In 2011 and 2012, the water fell to some of the lowest points on record set during the 2007 droughts. In the spring and summer of 2013, the water level reached some of the highest points due to high amounts of rain and flooding in the north Georgia area. By late June 2016, the southern parts of Forsyth County were having severe drought, and water use was ordered to be reduced.


References


External links

*
"Growth, growth everywhere but not a drop to drink"
News article about the 2007–2008 drought
Lake Lanier Protection GroupLake Lanier InformationLake Lanier Water Levels
{{authority control Venues of the 1996 Summer Olympics LLanier Bodies of water of Dawson County, Georgia Bodies of water of Forsyth County, Georgia Bodies of water of Gwinnett County, Georgia Bodies of water of Hall County, Georgia Olympic canoeing venues Olympic rowing venues Protected areas of Dawson County, Georgia Protected areas of Forsyth County, Georgia Protected areas of Gwinnett County, Georgia Protected areas of Hall County, Georgia Lanier Rowing venues in the United States