Corps: Expect Allatoona Lake Levels To Peak By Sunday

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CARTERSVILLE, GA -- Due to significant rainfall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District has implemented flood risk management operations in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) river basins.

The reservoirs are operating for one of their primary missions, flood risk management. Portions of northern Georgia and Alabama have received up to a foot of rain over the last few days, causing the lakes and downstream rivers to rise rapidly, the agency said earlier this week.

“Due to recent rain events and as part of the flood damage reduction operations on the ACF, releases from Buford Dam were curtailed on Dec. 22 to prevent further flooding and impacts downstream of the project,” said Lisa Parker, deputy public affairs officer for the Mobile District.

For the ACT Basin, Lake Allatoona’s current elevation is near 842.85 mean sea level, which is nearly 14 feet above normal winter level. The lake level has risen over 10 feet since Dec. 22 and is expected to peak near 850 on Sunday, Jan. 3, Parker said.

Water releases from Allatoona will be increased near the end of the week to allow for current flooding conditions downstream to diminish. Expected outflow increases from Allatoona will occur after downstream river levels have peaked and receded, however.

“The Corps continues to monitor the situation and will make necessary changes to water releases to ensure minimal impacts both upstream and downstream,” said Parker.

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Photo credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Allatoona Lake’s Facebook page