Lake Lanier Update - How Much Rain to Fill the Lake?

Lake Lanier Update
How Much Rain to Fill the Lake?
December 13, 2008

Rains in North Georgia in late November and early December stemmed the fall of water levels in Lake Lanier. Indeed, on the date of this writing the water level had actually risen about one foot, but still remained near a record low. (Record low of 1050.8 ft on set on December 28, 2007.) The latest graph can be seen here.

Brett Whitin, hydrologist with The Southeast River Forecast Center (SERFC) recently released his findings on how much rain it will take in coming months to fill the lake. Given certain assumptions, he sees the possibility of filling the lake with rainfall that is only 10 percent above normal between now and the end of September 2009 (the 2009 "Water Year").

Earlier in 2008, Brett released statistics on the seasonal recharge (or refilling) of Lake Lanier. Among other things he points out:

The average winter/spring recharge is 8.9 feet. So, in a “typical” year the lake will rise about 9 feet.
But...in years when the lake level is unusually low, the average recharge is 11.4 feet.

For details and many more statistics, be sure to read this article in the SERFC Journal.

The Southeast River Forecast Center (SERFC) also recently quantified the importance of 'Frequency of Rainfall' in the recovery of water levels in Lake Lanier. Read the article written by Hydrologist Brett Whitin for the SERFC Journal.

Articles are in ".pdf" format which can be read using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Relevant web pages:

NWS Peachtree City Drought Information Page
Rainfall Departure from Normal Stats Deficits over various periods of time
NWS Peachtree City Rainfall Resource Page
SERFC Water Resources Outlook Page

Comparison of Water Levels on Lake Lanier September 2007 versus January 2008 ( click images to enlarge ) Photos courtesy Bill Kinsland.
Lake Lanier in September 2007 as seen from Highway 60 in Hall County.	Lake Lanier in January 2008 as seen from Highway 60 in Hall County.