Name:	Leadawg -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/22/2016 6:30:54 PM

Only 3' to go and we're at new winter level ......... BTW good job APC keeping the level up this year in a drought! 

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/22/2016 6:35:29 PM

490   then  491   and now  492   Man, am I confused.

Will have to have a monsoon to reach that.

Name:	Samdog -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/22/2016 8:02:10 PM

484

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/27/2016 9:11:01 AM

I agree that APCO did what they could but we are almost 3 feet below the new rule curve.  The new rule curve calls for 489.32 on 9/26 and we are at 486.76.  Unless precipitation jumps up this fall there is no way they will be able to maintain 484 during the winter.  But again, this is not APCO's fault.  The weather is what it is.

Name:	Samdog -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/27/2016 10:52:54 AM

We are steady going down due to the drought and the season. Any bets on if the water will go down to the old 480 without significant rainfall?

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/27/2016 12:40:09 PM

It's global weather.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/27/2016 5:26:57 PM

It's the local weather.......not globaloney......

Name:	Watchman -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/28/2016 12:22:26 AM

Is it the drought or APC?. Check out the Coosa levels at Lay Lake, Lake Mitchel and Lake Jordan while the Coosa head waters in North East AL are in sever drought. Lay was down only 6 inches from full pool last week. Martin will be down 5 feet from full pool by next week.  If both the Coosa and the Tallapoosa serve as sources of power and water for the Alabama barge levels then why the huge discrepancy ? Why is drought effecting Martin more than Lay and Mitchell? Makes no sense when the basins are so much alike in location and weather. Anyone have any light on this mystery?

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	No mystery.
Date:	9/28/2016 6:16:34 AM

No mystery at all.  Lay,  Mitchell, and Logan-Martin are "run of the river"  inpoundments and Martin is a a storage reservoir hence coos a lake levels are less affected  drought.

Name:	Watchman -	Reply
Subject:	No mystery.
Date:	9/28/2016 8:26:03 AM

Review of the Coosa "pondage"  on Alabama Lakes above shows over 2,500,000 foot acres on the Coosa compared to 2,000,000 in Lake Martin and Lake Wedowee. Although booth systems have "run of the river" power generation the Coosa is not short on impoundment of water. Seems logical that the early drop in Martin could be balanced better with use of Coosa system. At the current rate of lowering, large parts of Martin are limited to only five months of dock and boat usage, detrimental to the Tallapoosa economies. I must be missing something. Or, APC needs the power from Martin more than from the Coosa- which might be more costly. Losing the coal generation capabilities may even add to the pressures to draw down water in the future. And that is not mentioning the Atlanta water needs over the next ten years.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 9:39:17 AM

Since you are brand new to the forum I didn't realize you were an expert! I'm glad you have arrived to keep APCO in check so that us misfortune Lake Martin homeowners will enjoy higher water levels.  What a relief. I was worried that APCO's 100 years of experience, millions in research and teams of experts were not doing there job. Not to mention FERC, the COE and dozens of other studies.

Now that we have that out of the way I suggest you do a little research on the terms "run of the river"  and inpoundments aka reservoir (storage)  in regards to Alabama lakes. Obviously since you can quote the acre feet of the respective lakes I know you can use Google. Go back and search the proper terms and then come back and tell us how mismanaged our lake is.

I'm guessing you are brand new to paradise. Us old timers see it every year.  Some Newby comes along and buys a lake house and suddenly they know best for the lake,  especially in regards to water level. If you don't like the draw down,  LEAVE!  It is a fact of life here.  Some of us enjoy it.

Now please Google, cut and paste some more moot (used just for you archie) points for us to ponder and to show how horrible APCO is at water management.

Name:	HARRY -	Reply
Subject:	Sorry Mr. Watchman
Date:	9/28/2016 12:05:13 PM

You have learned as others before you not to express opinions here unless you have been pre-approved by the curmudgeons.lol.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Sorry Mr. Watchman
Date:	9/28/2016 12:16:49 PM

One sentence was opinion,  the rest is crap. Ignorant statements made by a clueless Newby who takes one statistic and erroneously extrapolates a conclusion.

Name:	Eileen Doverda cliff -	Reply
Subject:	Sorry Mr. Watchman
Date:	9/28/2016 1:12:35 PM

I too am sorry Mr. Watchman.  Nothing you said in either post warrants the totally inappropriate response you received from Lifer.  Those kinds of rude, condescending personal attacks are what make a good tool such as the forum useless.  Out of the sometimes rude responses or posts I have seen on the forum, this one might top them.  It might be a good thing for Lifer to review bullet item number one under "Forum Usage Rules".

I guess now I will wait on the personal attack aimed at me.  Don't expect another response.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 1:30:02 PM

Lifer, you have a lot of good info helpful to so many.  The attitude with which you presented it stunk, was most inappropriate.   You can attack me like that any time you need to vent, but give the new folks a little common courtesy, please.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Welcome back Jim
Date:	9/28/2016 1:39:15 PM

Did you decide to come and play with the adults again? You think that was a personal attack?  You know better. My first post simply pointed out the difference in the classification of the lakes on the coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. Since when is providing info a personal attack? Not that I give one hoot what your opinion is. Watchman took one Stat and tried to make relevant to our lake level.  A YUUGE mistake. I would bet that by now Watchman has done a little reading and understands the difference as it relates to Lake levels.  Maybe you should too.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 2:00:31 PM

Okey do key uncle mitt........ Lol. Didn't mean to upset folks.  My sarcasm font seems to be malfunction in. My first post was simply informative but then he doubled down on ignorant instead of researching the difference in classifications and how each is licensed to operate. Had I just wanted to be ugly there were several other statements in his post I could have exfoliated him for.

 You grow matters,  I stir the puddin'...lol.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 2:54:36 PM

You grow matters,  I stir the puddin'    deal

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 3:14:46 PM

Deal... Till spring anyway... Lol. I cleaned out the fridge today and doing my first pot of soup for this fall. Garden veggies topped off with a jar of this year's mater crop. Yum.  Yum. Then I went and burned the cornbread. Now I gotta wait on the skillet to cool before I can make some more.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/28/2016 4:52:17 PM

Back on topic.  Lake Martin was designed to be a storage reservoir to catch floodwaters and provide water for navigation during droughts.  This was before the lske became a major recreation destination.  The Coosa River lakes are much smaller and most lack the volume to do what Martin does.  The Coosa lakes that do have storage capacity (Logan Martin, Weiss and maybe Neely Henry) are being used, but they still can't help much.  

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 8:24:06 PM

That wasn't stirring the puddin, it was just mean spirited and a slam at a person, not an idea.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 8:39:18 PM

The guy wondered why our level is low and the coosa isn't.  I explained it to him,  or tried to,  but he pulled some irrelevant Stat to buttress his opinion of what our level should be instead using the knowledge he was given to better understand what is going on. Mean? I'm sorry I didn't mean to trigger you or anyone else. Please find your safe space.  Copper will help you through this crisis I'm sure.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 9:39:08 PM

I have no crisis, just an opinion, and it is just as important as yours.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/28/2016 10:17:33 PM

Nobody said it wasn't. My first response to Watchman was timely and informative.  He chose to ignore it and go off on a tangent so I did too. Difference was mine contained pertinent, accurate and useful info. Don't like it,  don't read it.

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/29/2016 6:43:22 AM

Ah, but to read and disagree is the beauty of the forum, much unlike what the Off Topics forum has become.  But one should attack the post, not the poster.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/29/2016 7:13:40 AM

I disagree.  The post doesn't appear out of a vacuum.  It is composed and posted by a human who must own it,  good or bad.

Name:	Watchman -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/29/2016 10:13:37 AM

Points well made and taken. We can't all be Lifer's on the lake. Your experience here is of great value.  I admit  I have somewhat of a contrarian approach and it has served me well, questioning the status quo.

Our family has owned lake houses on Coosa and Tallapoosa since the 1960's so I tend to compare the two systems. I hope you agree that we need to be creating a new sense of public urgency in light of the fact that Atlanta's population is expected by most pundits to add another two million by around 2025. Unfortunately, I'm afraid Atlanta's thirst for water will win the water wars considering their national political clout compared to Alabama's. I,m hoping to see us hold them off at least for a while or find ways to compromise before we just lose the three feet they want permenantly. I don't see them building any new Georgia reservoirs.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I'm sorry
Date:	9/29/2016 11:09:08 AM

I grew up in Childers burgess than a mile from the Coosa River, Talladega Creek and and Tallapoosa Creek.  I used to ride my bicycle to all three. I spent plenty of time with friends on Logan Martin and Lay Lakes as well as having a family place o  Lake Mitchell for two seasons. Our family always vacationed on Lake Martin though till Dad bought land o  Martin when I was 15. I have four sisters who all live in Atlanta and have lived there myself for short tenures twice. I understand your perspective very well.  That doesn't change the reality of the different licenses and operating guidelines that govern the different river systems.  APCO doesn't operate the waterways in a vacuum. They must follow the guidelines of FERC and COE.

As for the seemingly unquenchable thirst of Atlanta, God only knows how that will turn out. One thing in our favor is that Atlanta discovered us and then started their invasion.. LOL. Maybe there are enough of them here now to stop them stealing our water. My solution would be to build a de-salinazation plant on the coast on pipe water to Atlanta. (also a viable solution for california)

Please accept my apology for the harshness of my second post. I tend to dip my quill in Draino at times. I wish everyone would take the time to educate themselves a little about the lake and how the waterways of our state are managed instead of just griping about how APCO does it. I also tend to be a little sensitive to APCO criticism because I have ties to sev~Al current and former employees. I have also read several books o  the history of the lakes and APCO in general. I am actually just getting into the meat of another now. I have also toured all four of the above mentioned dams several times,  something I encourage everyone to do.

Welcome to our community and the forum. I hope you and your family enjoy both for many years to come.

P. S.-There is already another dam/Lake licensed on the Tallapoosa. It will probably never be built, but it most certainly could be although with the destruction of the coal industry (thanks obammy) I guess the likelyhood is increasing.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	New Lake Level 492'
Date:	9/29/2016 11:50:49 AM

I just remembered something else.  It is not just surface area.  Martin is much deeper than the Coosa lakes.  There may be an occasional deep hole in the Coosa lakes, but most of the lower end of of Martin is over 100 feet deep.  That is a lot of water capacity.

Name:	LakerLaker -	Reply
Subject:	Sorry Mr. Watchman
Date:	9/29/2016 12:50:06 PM

This guy thinks he owns the Forum - nothing new for him. Glad he apologized, but doubt he meant it and he will do it again - it's the type of person he is! I will not respond to any rude, arrogant post from this low lifer. Everyone should just ignore him!

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I've got a better idea
Date:	9/29/2016 1:40:00 PM

Let's start a movement to have me BANNED FOREVER! That will really show me. We should at least have to register so I can't hide behind anonymity. We can start a behind the scenes email chain talking about me and come up with plans to try and shame me or embarrass me and force me to stay away.  We can call me names and try to convince everybody what an @sshole I am they should ignore me and never respond to me again. That should stop me don't you think?

It didn't work any of the other times it's been tried but maybe you can make it work. I got confidence in you.  Give it the old college try.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Interesting statistic
Date:	9/29/2016 1:44:51 PM

At full pool the top foot of Lake Martin would supply every household in Alabama with water for a year. Ponder that for a while. That blew my mind when I read it. That doesn't include business and industry just homes but it it still staggering to think about.

Name:	Mack -	Reply
Subject:	Interesting statistic
Date:	9/29/2016 4:00:58 PM

That top foot of water shows up on my monthly bill from Birmingham Water Works......

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Interesting statistic
Date:	9/29/2016 5:13:57 PM

Do you use meter water or a well for your lawn?

Name:	Mack -	Reply
Subject:	Interesting statistic
Date:	9/29/2016 6:26:03 PM

No wells in Birmingham that I am aware of. Probably cost $mucho bucks to drill that deep from my elevation. I use a meter on the sprinkler system that I read once a year and get a credit in the $500 range. But my combined water/sewer bill last month was $247 in a medium size home of 2 adults and a medium size lawn that gets watered maybe twice a week during Summer.

The sewer part was $124. If we had a house full of kids taking long showers and washing clothes every day my bill would pay for a new luxury auto. Praise for well water at the lake for all needs.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	I've got a better idea
Date:	9/29/2016 7:35:27 PM

Lifer, Lifer.....eat some more soup.  There is no need to attack attack.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	I've got a better idea
Date:	9/29/2016 8:13:08 PM

LOL.... What you call attack I call amusing entertainment on a beautiful but boring day. The soup is even better today as is almost always the case.

Name:	mariah1 -	Reply
Subject:	I've got a better idea
Date:	9/29/2016 10:36:27 PM

I enjoy Lifers Posts. They always contain accurate information.  He may stir the pot but I like it. Been here myself for 40 years now. 

Name:	Buteye -	Reply
Subject:	I've got a better idea
Date:	9/29/2016 11:23:58 PM

Agree, Lifer always adds a little "life" to what are sometimes dull posts.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Fans. WHEE!
Date:	9/30/2016 6:25:36 AM

Maybe you guys should start a club.... Lol.

Seriously though, in all the years now and all the controversy Bruce has never asked me to stop. Had my alias taken a time or two.  Been suspended for a few days a couple of times but only popular demand..... Lol. I'm like Howard Sterns, love me or hate me,  folks still come back to see what I've said.