If you happen to be driving

in the Lake Kedron area of Peachtree City, you'll probably notice that

the lake is shrinking. The water level is way down. The outer perimeters

of the lake have been transformed into marshlands.

Why, you might wonder, when

summer is over, water usage is down, and we've had some rain, does it

look like the lake is even lower than it was in the peak summer heat?

Because it is and, because

the receding water level has been a gradual process, you may not have

noticed until recently when it became hard to miss. You may ask yourself,

and others have, what you can do to help solve the problem.

The "problem," it

turns out, is multifaceted. Part of the problem is the drought, part of

the problem is a growth rate that is outpacing our infrastructure, and

part of the problem may rest at the decision-making level. Are our area

reservoirs being fairly drawn down relative to their capacity to recoup

their net water level losses?

Here are a few facts about

the Fayette County water system. We have six surface water sources in

the Fayette County water system: Lake Kedron, Lake Peachtree, Lake Horton,

Line Creek, the Flint River, and Starr's Millpond. We have five well water

sources which are all in the crystalline aquifer. In addition, we purchase

water sources from the city of Atlanta, the city of Fayetteville, and

the Clayton County Water Authority. According to the water system's Annual

Water Quality Report, we process "an average of 7,700,000 gallons

per day at the water plant on Crosstown Road."

To address the future needs

of Fayette county, "the six million gallon a day South Fayette Water

Treatment Plan is under construction," which will eventually produce

18 million gallons a day. A new two million gallon water tank will be

built. The biggest plan in the works is the 650-acre Lake McIntosh Reservoir

in the western portion of Fayette County. The water system has purchased

the site and has a consultant preparing the "404 permit" application

which is required by the state to construct the reservoir.

But what's happening now? Lake

Horton, Starr's Mill pond, and Lake Kedron are down because of a three-year

drought. Lake Kedron is down a lot 40 percent since April 1 of this year,

according to Tony Parrott, director of the Fayette County Water System.

Lake Peachtree, which is owned

current mean water level by virtue of a 50-year contract between the city

and the county. Here's how it works.

Lake Kedron has no pump station

of its own (by design?), so up to 4 million gallons a day are released

into Lake Peachtree to be drawn off at the Lake Peachtree pump station.

According to the 50-year Lake Peachtree Water Level Agreement, updated

and reinstituted in 1984, "Lake Peachtree may only be drawn down

from its current mean level at such time as the upper reservoir (Lake

Kedron) has been drawn down to its silt pool level and the County Commission

has declared a water emergency." Lake Horton draws water up to a

permitted level off of the Flint River, so when it gets low, it can be

partially replenished, but it is still down by 6 feet. Lake Peachtree

is kept full by Lake Kedron, Flat Creek, and sometimes Line Creek. Starr's

Mill pond and Lake Kedron are supplied by creeks and have a harder time

recouping their supply in a drought.

Some residents have concerns.

Theresa Basilone believes that if "average citizens could see the

devastation" to the ecosystem around the lakes, they would work harder

to conserve water and lobby for slowed growth. Mrs. Basilone, who recently

flew over the Fayette County area with her husband Joe to take a look

at area lakes, was appalled by what she saw. "It [Lake Kedron] used

to be eye enhancing. Now it's a black eye," she laments.

Tom O'Connell, a past president

of Smokerise Plantation Homeowner's Association, raised these same questions

several years back, but soon realized he was fighting a losing battle.

"The water system was

within its rights to drain down the lake. There was nothing we could do,"

reports Mr. O'Connell. Mr. O'Connell stresses that residents around Lake

Kedron are not seeking special treatment. They simply want equal

treatment. If Lake Kedron is taking a bigger hit than other area reservoirs,

it would be nice if someone could help to address that.

The good news is that usage

is down some. A third less water was drawn off of Lake Kedron in the week

of Oct. 7-13 than was drawn off the week of July 7-13, but there is still

way more going out than is coming back in.

Those of you who have lived

here a while will remember, but those new to the area may find it interesting

to note that the last time Lake Kedron was terribly low, it was residual

rain from a Gulf Coast hurricane that hovered in the metro Atlanta area

for several days that replenished the lake. The odds of that happening

again are...not very good.

[Your comments are welcome:

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