Drought tightens grip on Southeast

Lawsuit threatened
On Friday, Perdue threatened to take legal action if the Corps continued to let more water out of a north Georgia water basin than it collects. And the president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce said on Monday that businesses could also line up behind a legal challenge.

“We have an ongoing water crisis in metro Atlanta. And it is the biggest and most imminent economic threat to our region,” said Sam Williams, the chamber’s president.

Scientists have little reason to hope the drought will ease anytime soon.

The Southeast Climate Consortium warns that a La Nina weather system is forming, which could bring drier and warmer weather for Florida and most parts of Alabama and Georgia.

“When we need to recharge our water system, this is what we don’t want,” said state climatologist David Stooksbury, who predicted that it will take months of above-average rainfall to recoup the losses.

A sliver lining
In Atlanta, officials are nervously watching the dropping level of Lake Lanier, the sprawling north Georgia reservoir that provides water for 1 in 3 Georgia residents. The latest measurements have become a fixture on nightly television newscasts in Atlanta, where the drought is often the top story.

There is a silver lining of sorts in the middle of the drought: Guides say the lake’s fishing is as good as ever, if not better.

“Less water, less places to hide, I guess,” said Chuck Biggers, a guide who has roamed the lake’s waters for four years.

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