RECESSION AND LAKE LANIER LEVELS

Happy New Year! I thought it was interesting to note that the last time we were in a recession was in 2001 and that was the last time Lake Lanier was down over 15.0 feet below full pool. Currently we are 19.72 feet below full pool as of this post. They say we are not YET in a recession, but it sure FEELS like it!

I had an interesting conversation with a Realtor in Rabun County talking about Lake Burton and how there is only a 4 foot drop during the winter months on their lake. He told me that Lake Lanier is a "mud hole" now and said that our Lake went down in the 90's and has never recovered.

Of course I begged to differ with him! Lake Lanier has had its issues with water for over 17 years, but I am a little prejudiced, I guess, because Lake Lanier has many other things going for it...ie; that beautiful blue water, its proximity to Atlanta, its continued increase in values since the lake was built in the 1950's, etc.

Yes we are in a BUYERS market now, with market corrections taking place, but after reviewing the numbers, Lake Lanier still had a modest increase in values in 2007. While it feels like we are in a declining market on the Lake, I am happy to report, we are NOT....If the drought continues or gets worse, values could decline, but I am thinking positive, conserving water and praying for rain!

This discussion with the Realtor did prompt me to take a look back 20 years at Lake Lanier levels and I thought everyone would like to know just what the history of the lake fluctuations were. I recorded those times when it dropped below the 1060 level and how long it took it to return to full pool at 1071. Here is what I found:

1981: 1052.66 Lowest on December 23, 1981
1982: 1070.05 Almost full pool on June 5, 1982

1986: 1055.25 Lowest on September, 30, 1986
1987: 1071.04 Back to Full Pool April 6, 1987

1987: 1057.9 Dropped on December 13, 1987
1989: 1071.04 Returned to full pool July 6, 1989

***1 1/2 years to return to full pool

1993: 1058.25 Dropped on November 25, 1993
1994: 1071.01 Returned to full pool May 10, 1994

2000: 1058.52 Dropped on September 20, 2000
2001: 1055.61 Continues to Drop on January 17, 2001
2003: 1071.36 Back to Full Pool on February 22, 2003

**Over 2 years to return to full Pool**

2006: 1067.00 Started its drop in May, 2006
2006: 1065.00 Continued its drop in June, 2006
2006: 1061.00 Continued its drop in September, 2006

2007: 1068.00 Back Up in April, 2007
2007: 1058.00 Down again in September, 2007
2007: 1055.00 Down again in October, 2007 **Big drop in one month!
2007: 1051.00 Down again in November, 2007 ** Big drop in one month!
2007: 1050.00 Down slightly in December 2007

2008: 1051.00 Up slightly in January, 2008

**Thanks to the rain and slow to no release of the water from Buford Dam.

So for those who think Lanier never recovers from her drought periods, this is proof that she DOES indeed recover, each and every time!

Pray for more rain, lets clean up our shores, conserve more water and Lake Lanier will be back to her "old self" and soon we will be saying: "Remember when we had that terrible drought back in 2007"......

May 2008 be a great year for us all! Thanks for visiting and REMEMBER....if you need someone who knows and understands the Lake, you have found her: Just click on the link below.

http://www.marytappraisals.com