The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officially determines the Lake Lanier water level.  They use two different measurements to determine when it’s full, one for winter months and one for summer months.
The USACEÂ calls it “full pool.”
- Summer Full Pool (May 1 –Â November 30) is 1071′.
- Winter Full Pool (December 1 –Â April 30) is 1070′.
We arbitrarily chose to compare the official water levels on June 26th over the past decade.
The 10-year average water level for Lake Lanier on June 26th is 1067.07 feet above sea level, about four feet below full pool.
On June 26, 2016, the official Lake Lanier water level was 1067.63 feet. Â That’s about seven inches above the 10-year average.
Are we in a bit of a drought? Â Yes. Â Is there rain in our local forecast? Â Yes. Â Is Lake Lanier where it “normally” is for June 26th? Â Yes.
Relax and enjoy the nice weather, while it lasts. Â Winter is fewer than 180 days away.
YEAH, here is why: Until just a couple years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers would let out water in fall/winter in anticipation of winter/spring rains filling it up to full pool before June. And in doing so, Lanier hit record lows when those winter/spring rains did not arrive as ordered. So, in any given year, we had a 50/50 chance that Lake levels were at full pool in June, and a 50/50 chance that lake levels were down 7-8 feet. And then we had TWO years of drought, and lake levels plunged to historic lows.
The corp no longer drops the pool in expectation of spring rains. It was a stupid idea that took them the better part of 40 years to figure out. It means that sometimes, the winter waterline will get a little high (as it did in Jan/Feb), but that water will be sufficient should we have a spring drought.