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KenCook's Blog

by KenCook from Atlanta

Last Post 150 days, 3 hours Ago


Is the Corps trying to pull a fast one?
Nov 7, 2007 | 11:21 PM
Category: Weather
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Dear friends,

Something fishy is happening at Lake Lanier, and that's not just the smell that's coming from the water near the "dead pool".  Over the last two days (Monday and Tuesday), the Corps of Engineers released 4.1 Billion (with a B) gallons of water from Buford Dam.  That was more than the amount of water released during the six previous days.  From everything that I've read or heard about how the Corps was about to cutback on releases from Buford Dam, this comes as complete shock to me.  I'm beginning to wonder if this is not a game of  "bait and switch"?  Here is how I suppose the game is played.  The Corps of Eng. says that they are on the verge of reducing outflow from Lake Lanier.  Everyone around here is happy.  Then for the next couple of weeks or so, they actually increase the outflow and send it downstream to be stored at West Point Dam or Woodruff Dam.  Then when the time comes where all parties are in agreement for the gates to be tightened on Lake Lanier, enough water has already been released to keep Alabama and Florida is business for the next 30 days or so.  At that point, the regulators are hoping that the winter rains will have started, and that everything will be ok.  But what if the winter rains are sub-par again this season?  Then what's going to happen in 2008?  I don't know if anyone has looked that far ahead yet.  Stay tuned.

I welcome your comments.

Ken Cook

8 Comments |  Add a Comment

Member Comments Total Comments: 8
Page 1 of 1
JessR
Nov 8, 2007 | 7:03 PM

I had lunch at Ray's on the River on Tues. and we actually commented that the river was fuller and running faster than we had seen it in the past. This explains why! Thanks for keeping us up to date - and for all you do.
rjo76
Nov 8, 2007 | 9:17 PM

We are in a very dangerous position in Georgia. We are currently stuck into a position of playing politics with our neighbors and the Federal Government as Far as a solution is concerned to the water that remains in Lake Lanier. We have a slim outlook as far as rain is concerned, and we possibly have the Core of Engineers letting out as much water as they can at will. How do we solve this problem? We all know waiting on the Feds to act in a timely mannor has about as much chance as Grady Hospital being ran like a well oiled machine. So what do we do? If you want a fast resolution to a problem then you must create another problem. If Sonny Perdue were to send in Law Enforcement and force the Core of Engineers out of the Dam and refuse to let any water out then we would see an immediate responce from the Feds as well as those down stream. At this point you would have immediate cooperation from all parties involved to come up with a solution.
dcdacula
Nov 11, 2007 | 9:57 PM

Ken thank you for the insight to the Corp's suspicious behavior. It is hard to believe how much water is being released when we are on the verge of running out water. In addition, I was watching Fox 5's late edition on Thur or Fri when you mentioned that 9+ billion gallons of water were just released. I was sorry that you had to inform the audience at the end of the newscast that this was not Fox 5's opinion but someone has to say it and hopefully it caught the attention of your viewers of the Corp's behavior. I support you and your comments whole heartedly and want to know who can contact or what can we do to express our frustrations?
thejanman
Nov 13, 2007 | 4:05 PM

Written on November 9th but the ugly trend just continues:

Discharge records in cfs (http://water.sam.usace.army.mil/gage/acf/prob2.txt)>
3725 cfs discharged from Buford yesterday.
1909 cfs was the average last month
1202 cfs was the average the year prior (Oct 2006 - Sept 2007)


At 2523 cfs (3725-1202) over last years average cfs, the Army Corp of Engineers has wasted:

1 cubic foot of water = 7.4805 gallons
2523 cubic foot of water = 18,873.35 gallons

Don't forget this is per second. So that means:

1,132,401 gallons per minute (yes that is million)
67,944,062 gallons per hour
1,630,657,496 gallons yesterday (yes that is billion) OVER THE DAILY AVERAGE OF LAST YEAR


As I recall the river flowed just fine last year.

That is more than Altanta uses and we are asked to conserve 10% with shorter showers, drink only one glass a day, and don't brush your teeth.
countrymouse
Nov 14, 2007 | 3:58 PM

(Ken---I wrote this in my LJ today, for what it's worth. I figure, the more people who see it, and know what is really going on in GA, the better.----N Jones)

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE ---- NOT !!!!!!!

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?c
ontentId=4806928

(watch it and weep---that's about the ONLY water we'll be getting around here)

Sadly, the water situation here is getting worse, not better. Last I heard, our
primary water source, Lake Lanier, is going to be too low to draw water from
with current equipment in about 100 days or less. They "can" put in
different equipment, and draw from what is called the "dead pool", the
non-circulating water below dam level, but that water will be far more
concentrated with pollutants since it's coming from the bottom of the lake,
and will, we are told, have to be 'purified' in a much more 'intense'
process than we currently use. I don't know what equipment that will
entail, or if we even have such equipment up and ready to go in that
eventuality. However, we are told that, should it come to that, the water
coming out of the lake will "look and smell different" than what we are
accustomed to.

Think about that.

Brown and smelly.

Yuk!

The problem here is that, the ENTIRE watershed for the river that feeds Lake
Lanier, the Chattahoochee, is inside Georgia ONLY. And, the Chattahoochee is NOT
a large river, like its next nearest neighbor, the Tennessee River (which
flows through Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama). It's a small-to-medium
sized river, not even big eno
countrymouse
Nov 14, 2007 | 4:01 PM

uh-oh. Guess there's a word-limit, huh?

Ok---Ken, if you're interested, read the rest at http://countrymouse1.livejournal.com/ . I don't want to break any rules by over-posting or over-filling your blog space.

Countrymouse
weekendwarrior
Nov 15, 2007 | 5:05 PM

Ken,
When our lakes and rivers run completely dry, then Florida and Alabama will know the real reason why.
Weekend Warrior
crwshooter04 read my blog
Nov 16, 2007 | 2:47 PM

HAS ANYONE THOUGH ABOUT THE POLUTION?!!!! AND WHILE THE LAKE IS DOWN IS ANYONE HELPING CLEAN THE SHORES WHILE THE LAKE LEVELS ARE DOWN??? IT IS YOUR DRINKING WATER?????!!!!!!
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KenCook

I'm the chief meteorologist here at FOX 5, and have been here since 1979. Prior to that time, I was a meteorologist with the National Weather Service for almost 10 years, serving in Austin, Tx., Baton Rouge, La., and here in Atlanta. When I'm not watching the radar or telling you about the weather, I can be found in my vegetable or flower gardens, or on Lake lanier, or spending time with my grandkids here in north Georgia.

Member Since: 4/10/2007


 

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