An audio version of this story
Lake Allatoona has risen nearly eight feet above its normal full pool which has shut down a lot of the facilities at the lake.
Many of the boat ramps and campsites at Allatoona are flooded. Linda Hartsfield, the Army Corps of Engineers’ Chief Ranger for Recreation on the lake, says Allatoona has not seen this kind of high water in three years.
“So there’s lots of debris that’s washed up off the banks,” says Hartsfield. “Some trees have eroded. We’ve seen some live trees floating down the lake.”
Boaters will need to be extra careful, and since all the beaches are now underwater, Hartsfield does not recommend swimming.
At the Acworth Fish Camp, most of last weekend’s business got rained out. And kitchen manager Tom Turner is worried about this weekend. “We could get busy with foot traffic and people coming out and checking on their boats,” says Turner. “But I’m looking at 50 feet of water before you even get to a dock.”
Ranger Hartsfield says the Corps is hoping to lower the lake levels, and get the area cleaned up, in time for Memorial Day weekend. To find out what is open this weekend, Hartsfield says the best source is Lake Allatoona’s official Facebook page.
If you are visiting the lake and need a life jacket, the Corps has more than 20 locations on Lake Allatoona that will provide one for free through its Life Jacket Loaner program.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
