Property owners around Lake Lanier are no longer allowed to pump any water from the lake for the purpose of watering lawns and gardens.
The new shoreline use rules actually were effective January 1, 2016, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially announced the changes Friday in a press release.
“The new rules now forbid the use of reservoir water for irrigation. This impacts all property owners who have a permit to pump water from the reservoirs for their lawns and gardens and other uses," said USACE spokeswoman Lisa Parker.
Parker said water may still be pumped from the lake to wash permitted docks and boats moored at those docks as long as the water returns back to the lake.
Parker said the new rules bring shoreline management regulations into compliance with federal law.
“USACE projects in the Mobile District have multiple purposes which include flood risk reduction, water supply, water quality, wildlife management, recreation, hydropower and navigation. Congress did not include irrigation,” Parker said.
The new rules apply to all Corps reservoirs around the Southeast; the impacted reservoirs in Georgia are Allatoona Lake, Lake Sidney Lanier, Lake Seminole, Walter F. George Lake and West Point Lake.
