Lake Lanier hits lowest level in nearly 4 years

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Twenty-two public boat ramps at Lake Lanier are now closed due to low water. Levels have dropped to 1063.1 feet, their lowest point in more than three and a half years, according to Friday morning’s reading.%

%

"We have some boat ramps that are now closed. We advise people before you come and recreate on the lake that you go on our website look at the ramps that are closed, or are close to being closed," Nick Baggett, US Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resource Manager for Lake Lanier, told Channel 2's Katie Walls.

That information can be found here. Simply open the excel sheet and input the current lake level to see which public ramps are actively closed.

As the drought worsens, lake levels will continue to drop. Plan on more boat ramps closing in the coming weeks.

Lanier is peppered with about 100 islands. As water levels drop, more of those islands become exposed, and temporary islands surface, a serious danger to any boater.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Lead detective takes the stand in the hot car death trial
• US Marshal hit by car in southwest Atlanta
• Roswell city councilman arrested on child sex charges

John Matlack, Navigation Program Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers, marks surfacing hazards with large pink buoys.

“So far, I have 48 of the plotted temporary buoys out, but I probably have six that are not plotted that people have called and brought a hazard to my attention… When it hits 1062 (feet), I’ll put out another 16 or 17 more,” Matlack told Walls.

Matlack suggests boaters leave at least 80 feet between them and the buoy to ensure ample distance from the marked hazard.

It’s against federal law to move one of the temporary buoys.

If you encounter a spot that you feel needs to be marked, contact the US Army Corps of Engineers at 770-945-9531.

Cox Media Group