Corps Can Take Less Water From Lanier

Apparently the mussels aren't so endangered after all.

The Corps of Engineers was given approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to store more water and release less from Lake Lanier and other Chattahoochee River reservoirs. The change in releases has already been implemented.

"On first blush, it certainly looks like it supports much of what the corps has in its plan and much of what we had been saying, that all the needs can be met downstream even with some lower flows," said Bert Brantley a spokesman for Sonny Perdue's spokesman.

What is the Key Change?

Previously, the five reservoirs were permitted to store 30 percent of the inflow into the river basin. The new strategy increases the storage rate to 50 percent.

The Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the additional retention, while it will have adverse effects on Gulf sturgeon and three varieties of mussels in the Apalachicola River and bay that are either endangered or threatened, won't jeopardize their existence.

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