~ Letter to the Honorable Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia ~

Dear Sonny,

I don’t want to see on TV, read about, or hear another !*&%*^! word about the !*&%*^! scallops or oysters or clams or any other slimy (yet tasty) creature in Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Lake Lanier in northeast Georgia can not give them any more water! The dock in the first picture is my Mother’s dock in front of her house on Lake Lanier. The boathouse is supposed to be hooked to the dock, not 40 feet down a hill.

The dock....high and dry

The drought in Georgia has taken a toll on the area lakes, and this one in particular. Florida keeps yelling about more fresh water needs to be sent down the Chattahoochee River (which they call the Apalachicola River after it crosses the border) to keep the scallop and oyster beds alive. If Lake Lanier dies (and it’s pretty close now) just as many people in Georgia will be out of work as in Florida. There are marinas, boat dealers, restaurants, rental homes, boat repair shops, boat dock workers/builders, campgrounds, etc., all relying on the lake for their businesses……not to mention the decline in property value for home owners on the lake. All the recreational value of the lake to Atlanta and the surrounding area has dried up. People are afraid to go sailing or jet skiing because the water is so shallow and the Corps of Engineers can’t mark all the hazardous areas fast enough. And who would want to go swimming in that, even if you could make your way down to the water’s edge through the gunk?

Come on Sonny. Hold your position and don’t give up any more water. You wimped out on the flag issue but don’t wimp out on this!

Sincerely,
Susan Shepard, a concerned Georgia citizen.

This picture shows the second dock which is totally grounded while down below is the floating dock and pontoon boat.

Looking to the left along the shore

Looking to the right along the shore

Footnote: These pictures show only one cove on the lake, which has 700 miles of shoreline. The entire lake is in very bad shape.