The recent, daily, incessant, constant, unstoppable, nagging rain might be annoying, but at least Lake Lanier is full of water! The lake has risen more than four feet this month.
As of 10:15 AM on Thursday, February 22, 2018, Lake Lanier’s water level was 1070.6 feet above sea level. That’s a tad more than 7″ above what is considered “full pool” for this time of year.
Lanier is usually lower over the winter and higher in the summer. So, the USACE uses two different measurements to tell when Lake Lanier is full of water officially.
- Winter Pool begins on December 1st and ends on April 30th. During this time, Lake Lanier is at “full pool” when levels reach 1070 feet above sea level.
- Summer Pool is from May 1 through November 30. Lanier is considered to be at “full pool” when it hits 1071 feet above sea level.
We thank God for the rain. We also thank the USACE for managing the rainfall to be sure Lake Lanier is full of water.
Here’s a recent press release from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Public Affairs Officer Tim Oberle.
Lake Sidney Lanier in Northern Georgia reached full winter pool for the first time since May 2016. Under the Army Corps of Engineers’ Water Control Manuals for the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-
Flint (ACF) River Basin, a full winter pool for the lake is achieved when water levels reach 1070′. Mobile District Water Management Chief James Hathorn attributed current water levels to the efficiency of drought operations that the district implemented in 2017, and heavy precipitation over the last 10 days.
“Two things have contributed to reaching full winter pool this year,” Hathorn explained. “It was a combination of enlisting drought operations for the [ACF River Basin] at the right time over the course of the last year, and heavy precipitation in the area over the last ten days.”
The district entered drought operations in the spring of 2017, but suspended them when sufficient rainfall increased water levels throughout the basin during the summer. In the fall, the basin once again experienced drought conditions and water levels remained stable. Operations and rainfall through 2017 provided the conditions for water levels at Lake Lanier to rise to 1066.03′ by Jan. 1, 2018. Over the last ten days, heavy precipitation in the area brought the water level to its current elevation of 1070′.
Looking into the future, Hathorn expects water levels at Lake Lanier to remain at, or near, full winter pool through February. Beyond that, he is a little hesitant to predict.
“Beyond five weeks is difficult to forecast,” said Hathorn. “How water levels at Lake Lanier fare through the remainder of the spring and summer will depend greatly on the amount of rainfall that we receive across the entire ACF system because we operate it as a whole, and not by individual projects.”
