Drought Tightens its Grip on North Georgia

Drought conditions continue to grow harsher across north Georgia. Water levels in reservoirs and streams are at or near record lows across most of the region. Groundwater levels are also low.

Lake Lanier, a primary water source for metro Atlanta, is at a record low for mid-November. The previous mid-November record low was at this time last year.

Hartwell, Russell and Clarks Hill lakes in the Savannah River basin are at record low levels. Both Russell and Clarks Hill have less than two feet of usable pool left. Hartwell water levels are dropping very quickly in order to meet downstream needs. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers reports that the remaining conservation pool for Hartwell is 34 percent, for Russell it’s 32 percent and for Clarks Hill it’s 10 percent.

Even with normal seasonal rains, it’s doubtful that Lanier, Hartwell, Russell or Clarks Hill lakes will fully recover this winter.

Major rivers that are at record low flows for mid-November include the Etowah River at Canton, the Chattahoochee River near Cornelia, Chestatee River near Dahlonega, the Middle Oconee River at Athens, the Broad River near Bell, the Little River near Washington, the Oconee River at Dublin and the Altamaha River near Baxley.

Because of the extremely low stream flows, many counties in north Georgia have had their drought level classifications changed to a more intense level.

Exceptional drought – the most severe drought level - now exists north and east of a line running through Lincoln, Wilkes, Olgethorpe, Oconee, Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, Forsyth, Cherokee, Pickens, Gilmer and Fannin counties. This region includes Athens, Gainesville and Atlanta’s northern suburbs.

Extreme drought conditions are now in Columbia, Richmond, McDuffie, Glascock, Taliaferro, Warren, Hancock, Greene, Morgan, Walton, Gwinnett, north Fulton and Cherokee counties. The extreme conditions are also in parts of Pickens, Gilmer, Fannin and Murray counties.

Most of the remaining area north of the fall line is in severe drought. Heard, Troup, Harris and most of Talbot and Muscogee counties are in moderate drought.

The ocean-atmosphere system is in what climatologist call a neutral pattern, meaning it is in neither an El Niño nor a La Niña pattern. Historically, neutral-pattern winters have been very variable.

There is no strong indication that the winter of 2008-09 will be abnormally wet or dry. The trend over the past 15 years, however, has been for dry winters.

There is also no strong indication that the winter will be abnormally warm or cool. An important historical observation is that every major devastating freeze has occurred during a neutral-pattern winter.

With recent winters being our best guide, the most prudent response is to assume that this winter will tend toward the dry side. Water conservation efforts should continue.

Additional drought information and updates can be found at www.georgiadrought.org. Automated weather data across Georgia is at www.georgiaweather.net. Daily rainfall data is at www.cocorahs.org. U.S. Geological Survey data is at ga.water.usgs.gov. Water conservation information is available at www.conservewatergeorgia.net.

By David Emory Stooksbury
University of Georgia

David Emory Stooksbury is the state climatologist and a professor in engineering and atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia.

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University of Georgia Helps Restore Historic Athens Town Spring

As part of the Athens Town Stream Restoration Project, the University of Georgia is helping to reveal a historic stream located at the intersection of Fulton and Spring streets.

Scheduled to be completed by the start of fall semester, the project aims to restore the spring—thought to be the namesake of Spring Street—to be more reminiscent of what it used to be: a rock outcropping providing water to UGA students and Athens townspeople. The project also will help in the broader goal of making campus more green.

Physical Plant employees have mucked out dirt and decades worth of debris out of what was previously a grassy shoulder behind the business services building to reveal old cobblestone streets, railroad ties and a rock outcropping thought to be the very one John Milledge mentioned in his letter to the search committee responsible for finding a location for the University of Georgia.

With its “copious spring of excellent water,” the stream is heralded as the reason UGA stands where it does today. It served as Athens’ primary water source for decades, and its water was later pumped into a cistern in the mid-1800s. Eventually covered up by a lumberyard, the stream still is only partially “daylighted,” or exposed to the open air, while much of the stream, which flows into the North Oconee River, is piped underground.

The spring may become further exposed to celebrate the university’s history. Danny Sniff, associate vice president for facilities planning, said he’d like to see the stream head, thought to reside under the Central Duplicating Services building, exposed one day. While there is no time frame on that project, the university’s master plan eventually calls for the elimination of the building and the small parking lots in the area—replacing them with two smaller buildings and extending green space east of North Campus into the new northeast precinct. Sniff said he’d also like a historical marker for the area.

The restoration has been a collaborative effort between facilities planning and the grounds department at UGA and the Athens-Clarke County Public Works Department and its stormwater team.

Dexter Adams, director of UGA’s grounds department, said the restoration has been a good project for the landscaping crew to work on while other water-dependent landscaping projects have been put on hold due to the drought.

Because the stream provides its own water source, Jennifer Perissi, a landscape designer, has stocked the area with water-loving native plants including spikerush, Juncus, Carex and Hydrocotle, all of which grow in the gaps between old railroad tracks.

An old brick wall has been restored with wood beams and even some authentic old railroad hardware. Adams said he wants the entire project to look as authentic as possible, and thus has left the old building footings that were uncovered.

“I wanted to leave the artifacts that were here—the tracks, the cobblestones—and really do as little disturbance as possible to the stream,” said Adams.

That mindset falls in line with UGA’s master plan, according to Sniff.

“One of the things we’re trying to do with our planning is to keep as many of the indigenous materials as possible,” he said.

In the future, the area might even include picnic tables and an old rail cart. Though those plans aren’t yet certain, the historically significant stream will play a major role in the planning and development of the area, according to Sniff.

Sara Freeland
University of Georgia