The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is closely monitoring changing drought conditions across the region’s river basins, which includes the Chattahoochee and Lake Lanier.
Moderate to extreme drought conditions currently exist in the Mobile District, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Southeast | U.S. Drought Monitor Drought indicators suggest that, without significant rainfall, drought conditions are likely to persist as summer approaches.
Drought conditions began to develop in the region last summer and have worsened across most of the Southeast since then. Despite some recent below-average precipitation, drought conditions continued to expand. Over the last 30 days, the region has received only half the normal rainfall.
Streamflow conditions are well below normal in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin (which includes Lanier) and the upper Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT), Black Warrior-Tombigbee, and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway basins. A drier-than-normal winter and spring season has reduced streamflow to below normal levels, setting some record-low readings in some locations. Pool levels for the headwater projects at Buford, Carters, and Allatoona dams remain below median-pool elevations for this time of the year. Based on current conditions and forecasts, Federal ACF project drought operations began on May 1.
The short-term forecast indicates below-normal rainfall for the region, while the long-range models indicate an equal chance of normal rainfall over the next three months. With the current long-range outlook, drought conditions are expected to continue over the next several months and may intensify quickly during the summer months.
With lower water levels at Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona, and Carters Lake, the District staff urges boaters and other recreational users at the Federal reservoirs to use caution, always wear life jackets, and be aware that obstructions that are not normally visible can become hazards.
For additional information on water levels or water safety, please contact the Mobile District Public Affairs Office at (251) 690-2505.