We are at the end of a very dry rainy season. I am a environmentalist, and sometimes get very concerned about our precious drinking water, both now, and for the future.
Which brings to mind Lake McIntosh, the dam for which, is under construction. We have been told that the Coweta County side will have most of the lake area.
What little bit of lake frontage we will have, on the Fayette side, is swallowed up mainly by Planterra Ridge Golf Course.
I would guess that coverage to be about 80 percent of Fayette side lake frontage. It will be a “lake-front” golf course. And directly behind each fairway, and most of the course, are “on the golf course” private homes.
When it rains, all runoff from the backyards, could end up in the lake, unless other drainage has been provided.
Hasn’t been too long ago, that lake-front property owners on Lake Kedron, were told that they could not clear their property to the water’s edge; a buffer zone was needed to filter lawn fertilizers and weed killers, whenever it rains.
I would have thought that, when proposing a dam, to provide a lake, that first priority would be for our drinking water. But golf courses are built along the lakesides, and lake-front homes to boot.
Flat Creek, just north of Lake Peachtree, is surrounded on both sides of the creek by the Flat Creek Golf Course. I would assume that fertilizers and weed killers are used to maintain the greens, assuming those grasses are not immune to weeds. And the creek water is flowing south.
So when the pumping stations send water to the water department, all amounts of pollution will have to be filtered out. Reminds me of something Will Rogers said: “Always drink upstream from the herd.”
And what about the Coweta County side of Lake McIntosh? Will they construct lake-front golf courses and lake-front private homes?
Not very long ago, Lake Lanier water level was very low, due to drought. Seemed at that time that there was more concern with getting water levels high enough for boats to be launched than there was about the effects of the drought.
I do not dislike boats, nor do I dislike golf courses; but, to me, they both rank lower on the totem pole than our drinking water.
As for the relationship between Planterra Ridge Golf Course, and Lake McIntosh, Lake Mac was shown on real estate book maps as far back as 1985, long before Planterra Ridge was developed.
Hugh Buchanan
Peachtree City, Ga.
