Petition to drain Lanier

[Nicodemus]

Did she really put her kid on a tube behind a boat WITHOUT a life jacket? I simply do not believe anyone is that stupid. NOBODY IS THAT STUPID! I don’t remember the story back when it happened so I don’t know any details. But I think y’all are making that part up!
IF, that no life jacket part was true, she should be in jail for child abuse, neglect and any other related charges that level of stupidity might include. NOBODY IS THAT STUPID!
I jump in the lake every time I go fishing in the summertime, every time! First thing I do is put on my life jacket, then I dive in. I may die of a heart attack or some unforeseen event but I guarantee you I’ll be afloat!

Yes, there are people that stupid, and even more so.

 

[hopper]

Did she really put her kid on a tube behind a boat WITHOUT a life jacket? I simply do not believe anyone is that stupid. NOBODY IS THAT STUPID! I don’t remember the story back when it happened so I don’t know any details. But I think y’all are making that part up!
IF, that no life jacket part was true, she should be in jail for child abuse, neglect and any other related charges that level of stupidity might include. NOBODY IS THAT STUPID!
I jump in the lake every time I go fishing in the summertime, every time! First thing I do is put on my life jacket, then I dive in. I may die of a heart attack or some unforeseen event but I guarantee you I’ll be afloat!

I would never pull anyone much less a kid on a tube without a life jacket. I jump off the boat alot without one and never wear one just swimming. I definitely don't swim around alot of boats and jet skies or out in the middle of Lanier.

 

[bfriendly]

I can swim and if I got too tired I could back float from one end of the lake to the other, but I always wear mine nowadays.…..anywho, for what it’s worth, I think the petition is stupid.
I’m sure it was an accident regardless. I hate any child suffering or being lost like that. Breaks my heart no matter who the parents are.

 

[Pig Predator]

I think the saddest part about the petition is; the folks signing it either don't live in the area or don't realize buford dam powers Atlanta. Or both.

 

[Pig Predator]

I wonder how many innocent folks would die without the generators running?

 

[cowhornedspike]

I wonder how many innocent folks would die without the generators running?

None... because they wouldn't do that unless or until they had another source of power.

 

[redneck_billcollector]

That said. Drain every public lake in Georgia and sell the land off. Blow the dams up. Rivers only. Natural like nature intended

I own lakefront property (a Flint River reservoir) and live on it. I would loose property value. With that being said, I agree with you. In my latter years I have become a big "free the rivers" proponent. Reading the old local newspaper articles about the Gulf Sturgeon, Alabama Shad and Gulf Striped Bass runs I daydream about the potential of these watersheds. I am old enough to have caught eels regularly in the Flint above Lake Seminole before the dam impacted their regular invasion of the Flint (as they once did in all Gulf and Atlantic Rivers) and the adults eventually died out due to no fresh elver migration.

Most of the Reservoirs have now become Eutrophic and are filling up with invasive plant species and costing tax payers rather large sums of money to dump toxins in our water in an attempt to kill these invasive plants. The Reservoirs are silting up lessening the capacity of many of our Reservoirs too. Most of the dams in GA have reached their "life expectancy" and are becoming very expensive to maintain.

During the historic 1994 flood of the Flint River the Lake Blackshear dam actually led to more flooding and more than likely death downstream due to the managers wanting to protect the property of those who own property on the lake. Most hydrologist and ecologist are now in agreement that dams do much more harm than good. Not to mention the energy generated by these dams decrease with siltation and we are using less and less hydroelectric power with other means continuously coming online.

We as a group, claim to be outdoors people. We love to hunt and fish. So we should be conservationist and we should put nature ahead of our desire to have a place to run our jet skis or ski or run bass tournaments largely for species of bass that are rapidly replacing our native bass in many of these reservoirs (the spotted bass). With all that being said, there are few reservoirs that do serve a real purpose, Lanier is one of them, and that purpose is for water for our cities. Most of the reservoirs in GA though have outlived their usefulness and are now nothing more than liabilities that cause more harm than good.

I do disagree with selling the land that would be exposed if we drained the lakes. Let them be public land for hunting and fishing. Let them serve as flood plains and act as flood plains should, they are the kidneys of nature. They filter out the pollutants and help clean the water. It is not practical to restore our flood plains, but we should do all we can to restore as much as we can simply because it is the right thing to do for our grandchildren and their children down the road.

 

[Nicodemus]

I own lakefront property (a Flint River reservoir) and live on it. I would loose property value. With that being said, I agree with you. In my latter years I have become a big "free the rivers" proponent. Reading the old local newspaper articles about the Gulf Sturgeon, Alabama Shad and Gulf Striped Bass runs I daydream about the potential of these watersheds. I am old enough to have caught eels regularly in the Flint above Lake Seminole before the dam impacted their regular invasion of the Flint (as they once did in all Gulf and Atlantic Rivers) and the adults eventually died out due to no fresh elver migration.

Most of the Reservoirs have now become Eutrophic and are filling up with invasive plant species and costing tax payers rather large sums of money to dump toxins in our water in an attempt to kill these invasive plants. The Reservoirs are silting up lessening the capacity of many of our Reservoirs too. Most of the dams in GA have reached their "life expectancy" and are becoming very expensive to maintain.

During the historic 1994 flood of the Flint River the Lake Blackshear dam actually led to more flooding and more than likely death downstream due to the managers wanting to protect the property of those who own property on the lake. Most hydrologist and ecologist are now in agreement that dams do much more harm than good. Not to mention the energy generated by these dams decrease with siltation and we are using less and less hydroelectric power with other means continuously coming online.

We as a group, claim to be outdoors people. We love to hunt and fish. So we should be conservationist and we should put nature ahead of our desire to have a place to run our jet skis or ski or run bass tournaments largely for species of bass that are rapidly replacing our native bass in many of these reservoirs (the spotted bass). With all that being said, there are few reservoirs that do serve a real purpose, Lanier is one of them, and that purpose is for water for our cities. Most of the reservoirs in GA though have outlived their usefulness and are now nothing more than liabilities that cause more harm than good.

I do disagree with selling the land that would be exposed if we drained the lakes. Let them be public land for hunting and fishing. Let them serve as flood plains and act as flood plains should, they are the kidneys of nature. They filter out the pollutants and help clean the water. It is not practical to restore our flood plains, but we should do all we can to restore as much as we can simply because it is the right thing to do for our grandchildren and their children down the road.

I agree. Lake Seminole has done all it can do and is now nothing but a water bed for invasives. I`d love to see that dam removed and the entire area turned into a public hunting area. Like it was prior to being ruined.

 

[sleepr71]

I think there’s too much money being made by GA Power(leases) + counties( higher property taxes)..for these man made lakes to be returned to their natural state. It would make those Million dollar lake homes…worth a whole lot less…

 

[redneck_billcollector]

I think there’s too much money being made by GA Power(leases) + counties( higher property taxes)..for these man made lakes to be returned to their natural state. It would make those Million dollar lake homes…worth a whole lot less…

At some point in time the upkeep of any dam and the liabilities costs more than the benefits of the dam to the owner. Modern dams have a life span of 50 years on average before they require repairs regularly in order to keep them safe and/or functional.

As for property values, you are correct and it would be a hit to the local tax base, but it is also a hit to the local tax base when a dam fails. The Flint River Georgia Power dam in Albany GA failed in the 1994 floods and Albany and Dougherty Co. has still not recovered economically from that failure.

 

[tr21]

None... because they wouldn't do that unless or until they had another source of power.

do you really think they would think that far ahead ? nope....

 

[natureman]

Well I guess I will add my two cents worth. Likelihood of Lanier being drained to satisfy the petition is "0". The lake is way to important as a water supply, economic engine, and power producer. Plus IMO there is no connection between hazards under the lake and the death of her son. In a former career I created a database from paper records (over 600 incidents) of fatalities on the Lake Lanier dating back to when it began filling up in the mid-50's. Boating and swimming accounted for the majority of fatalities with much lesser numbers being vehicle, carbon monoxide, electrocution, suicide and homicide related. Many were preventable by wearing a PFD, learning to swim, not overestimating swimming ability, adhering to regulations or not being impaired. Environmental factors included swimming/wading in an unfamiliar areas and stepping off into deep water, electrocution from lightning strikes and hypothermia. Lake debris including standing timber, fishing line and water depth can be big factors affecting any recovery but in this case based on media reports did not cause this victim's death. I feel sorry for the mother who lost her son and I am sure she will always ask why, but in this case the boy not wearing a PFD, supervision issues and the acts of the jet ski operator are the cause and there are already laws that address this.

 

[ghadarits]

City of Atlanta probably doesn’t care about flushing their toilets. She must be related to Hank Johnson.

Not Hank Johnson….. I think he‘s the guy who thought Guam might capsize if the Marine base was expanded?

 

[Big7]

Heard they were going to change the name of Buford Dam. Supposedly, he was some kind of evil man.

 

[cowhornedspike]

Heard they were going to change the name of Buford Dam. Supposedly, he was some kind of evil man.

I liked him in Walking Tall...

 

[tr21]

I liked him in Walking Tall...

I thought he was good in Smokey and the Bandit too !

 

[tr21]

Well I guess I will add my two cents worth. Likelihood of Lanier being drained to satisfy the petition is "0". The lake is way to important as a water supply, economic engine, and power producer. Plus IMO there is no connection between hazards under the lake and the death of her son. In a former career I created a database from paper records (over 600 incidents) of fatalities on the Lake Lanier dating back to when it began filling up in the mid-50's. Boating and swimming accounted for the most fatalities with much lesser numbers being vehicle, carbon monoxide, electrocution, suicide and homicide related. Most all were preventable by wearing a PFD, learning to swim, not overestimating swimming ability, adhering to regulations or not being impaired. Environmental factors included swimming/wading in an unfamiliar areas and stepping off into deep water, electrocution from lightning strikes and hypothermia. Lake debris including standing timber, fishing line and water depth can be big factors affecting any recovery but in this case based on media reports did not cause this victim's death. I feel sorry for the mother who lost her son and I am sure she will always ask why, but in this case the boy not wearing a PFD, supervision and the acts of the jet ski operator are the cause and there are already laws that address this.

I agree. and the likelihood of them getting 150 year old statues removed is 0 . And don't be surprised when the faces are removed from Stone Mountain and replaced with MLK, John Looois, and Obama ! If your white or a conservative black your opinion means 0 !