Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/2/2017 1:00:49 PM

  Think back ten years and talk was totally about low water levels. Some folks were astounded that "they" would send "our" water downstream. Others were upset that they couldn't use their Piers on the Fourth. Still others declaring the lake may never fill again. Even a few worried about the increased shoreline Erosion. APCO  bashing was all the rage.

  Now fast forward 10 years. I et my pump up as usual in early spring and have not used it once. Rainfall records being broken, but not a major flood up or down the system. Yet my yard is soggy to the point of needing rubber boots to be in it with dry feet. Gardens all over the region are ruined from to much rain. The lake is full and I was told by a neighbor the water temp was only 75 degrees.

  What a difference a decade makes

Name:	DSCR -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/2/2017 2:44:47 PM

where's my like button ........

Name:	itisd -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/3/2017 8:37:18 AM

Global warming?

Name:	GC -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/3/2017 11:43:29 AM

Lifer, and the experts say we are all doomed with global warming.  Yes, I remember the experts predicting the southeast would soon become a desert!  

On the positive side, the waters wars appear to be at a stalemate, the corps allowed the new levels and draws, they increased the full pool by a foot (too funny!) and there has been progress on limiting the effects of dry spells.  I need to replace my pier and now have to hire it out due to new levels in the winter but I am probably too old to have done the work anyway!  

Whenever the experts spew their predictions refer them to the weather service, lol!  Any predictions out there?

Name:	jalcz -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/3/2017 11:20:45 PM

They didn't increase full pool by a foot, they simply corrected what had been a mistake in calculating what full pool was above MSL. The full pool level now is exactly what it was then, they just now know that that is 491 feet above MSL, not 490 feet.

Name:	dogleg -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/4/2017 7:00:05 AM

Don't know if it's due to climate change or fertilizer run off from all the McMansions that have popped up in the last ten years, but, like an algae bloom, there seems to be an invasive species, boat-owned-by-a-jackass bloom. That's the main difference I see in ten years.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	El Nino and La Nina
Date:	7/4/2017 8:26:31 AM

The only thing about the weather that is always the same is it always changes.  During an El Nino cycle the SE is usually drier and warmer and the opposite during a La Nina cycle.  Obviously we are currently in a La Nina cycle.  Also, we are approaching a Maunder minimum with the sun which means fewer solar flairs and some cooling of global climates.  

And once again, for probably the 20th year in a row the geniuses at NOAA's hurricane center have predicted a higher than normal hurricane season......despite the fact that no major hurricanes have hit the U.S. in going on 10 years now.  I suppose eventually they will get it right and all the globaloney prognosticators of doom will come out of hiding to tell us the end of the world is coming so please buy their carbon credits so they can go out gazillionaires like Algore the hoaxster.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/4/2017 2:19:07 PM

I was thinking about the drought we had one year, when most people could walk on the lake bed. I remember we were just building our house and wondering if we would have lake front property in 10 years. 

I don't think the water is as clean as it was 10 years ago, despite all the testing, and I do notice more plant matter.  We don't allow our yard guy to use fertilizer or weed killer on our lawn and just live with the weeds.  I do not want my dogs exposed to chemicals  and I certainly don't want it running into the water.  I'm not smart enough to know about climate change and whther it exists or not, but I don't do things purposefully to pollute the water. 

Name:	Moldyoldy -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/4/2017 4:51:56 PM

The lake gets greener and more polluted with each mcmansion erected. People used to be content to have modest cabins and natural landscaping. Now people bulldoze the cabins ad level the lots, washing tons of sediment into the lake. Then they haul in truckloads of sod that requires gallons of fertilizer and pesticides to survive, all of which eventually runs into the lake, just so they can impress their neighbors. The inheritance class and nouveau riche have destroyed what used to be a pristine lake.

Name:	UncleSam -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/4/2017 5:16:21 PM

You are exactly right Moldyoldy. I remember people making that prediction in this forum a decade or more ago and being laughed at. Maybe we should have listened.

Name:	ChrisCraft -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/4/2017 10:27:38 PM

Amen amen & amen. Those with modest cabins who would not want to live at the lake (where would you go on vacation or to get away?) are being pushed out or viewed as lesser mortals. But we will be there as such until we are pushing up those daisies! Lordy...abbreviated rant...:)

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Anyone....
Date:	7/4/2017 10:53:06 PM

Anyone who looks at our property KNOWS we aren't letting excess fertilizer run into the lake, lol.

Unfortunately those with excess disposable cash are trying to recreate their in-town existence on the lake, to include the American fascination with a lush green lawn.  I am not sure there is anything we can do about it, with the influence of real estate development and those who stand to profit from building in-town houses on the lake.  

Hound, I enjoyed our visit this morning and appreciate your hospitality to an old fart who hasn't realized yet that he isn't 29 any more.  Pedaling that hill going back to Coosa 20 from your place is a killer for those of us with "a lot of inhales and exhales" in our past.  Fortunately in this case the word "killer" is figurative.

Happy Independence Day to all!

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Anyone....
Date:	7/5/2017 12:37:20 PM

We have reached old timer status, and we kept our trees.  Not only do they provide shade, but most people don't even know our old Jim Walter cabin is there.  Shade trees and a lake breeze.  The perfect way to relax and watch the amateurs out on the lake.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/5/2017 12:54:59 PM

It was actually a little bit creepy walking on the lake bed with the water down that much, but at the same time it was informative.  I learned a great deal by exploring on foot and in the jonboat that I can use fishing at full pool.  For instance, there is a 480 line where sand has built up through the years during the winter.  Past thst line, the lake bed drops off much faster.  I have started to look for that transition in places where the backs of sloughs get silted over.  Find deep water near a 480 line and you can find the fish.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/5/2017 2:35:31 PM

Not all that much has changed in the quality of the lake water over the last decade other than a gradual reduction change in its trophic condition (which is still the best of all the lakes in the state).  But more to the point, the vast majority of contaminants that enter the lake come from non-point source discharges into the Tallapoosa River and the many tributaries that feed right into the lake.   And when I refer to contaminants I am talking about DO, COD, BOD, particulates, chemicals, etc.  The new homes on Lake Martin are miniscule contributors compared to discharges into the rivers, streams, etc. that enter Lake Martin.  So no, the McMansions are not ruining the lake water quality.  And no, I do not own one but I am generally opposed to the concept that once my house is built no others should be allowed. And I don't use pesticides or herbicides on my lawn.

What makes the Tallapoosa unique is the relative absence of very large cities in the watershed.  Just look at the water quality in West Point Lake which is downstream from Atlanta.  We are way, way better off.  In fact, the worst water quality in Lake Martin is in the upper reaches which are closest to Alex City.  No surprise there.  No doubt the development around the lake is contributing to the water quality but it pales in comparison to the impact from Alex City and non-point source disharges into the Tallapoosa river and its tributaries. Properly designed and maintained septic systems and moderate use of pesticides and herbicides all makes sense for individual homeowners but they are in now way the primary contributor to the water quality of the lake.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Anyone....
Date:	7/5/2017 9:39:39 PM

Glad you came by.  Great to renew our acquaintence.  Unfortumately you are right abou that hill.  Even walking it is killer.  Unless I am in a regular walking program, I have to stop a few times and then there is doing it in hot weather.  Next time bring your wife! 

I don't have a McMansion, but I do have a landscaped lawn.  We went with as much native bushes and such as was practical  We have zoysia grass.  I don't mind weeds.  In the last year or so, we are getting a lot of that water plant (water orchid?).  It seems to spread, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of herbiside that won't put poison in the lake.  it's supposed to be good for the fish.

Name:	Moldyoldy -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/6/2017 12:08:49 AM

I'm not an environmental engineer, marti, so i could be wrong. But what has changed in the last ten years that would make the lake more polluted and greener? Sure, Alex city is part of the problem, but it's runoff should be less damaging to the lake, especially since Russell shut down operations. The major change in the past ten or teen years to my uneducated eyes is the development of he numbers of huge houses and, more important than the size of the house is the way they are built. The old cabins used to be built pretty much on existing topography. The new large houses are only built after scraping and leveling large areas. Builders w down a little straw and say that's good enough to stop silt runoff, but it's not. Then comes the damage caused by huge landscaped lawns and the chemical and fertilizer runoff. And there's a lot of it no matter how careful the landowner is. I blame Alabama power for we ring to the demands if Russell and other developers. Just my opinion.

Name:	Moldyoldy -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/6/2017 12:11:18 AM

And I can't type worth a dam on these smartphones. Sorry for all the typos.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/6/2017 8:53:59 AM

No worries on the typos.  Heck, I make them all the time from my computer.  If you look at the data compiled by ADEM and Auburn University you will see the water quality in the northern portion of the lake is not as good as it is as you move further south.  They attribute this to Alex City which in my experience in the environmental business is a very reasonable conclusion.  Keep in mind that pretty much all stormwater from Alex City ends up in the lake, especially from residential areas where there are no stormwater detention ponds like you see with industrial facilities and new subdivisions.

I am not saying that the new development on the lake doesn't contribute to water quality but that its contribution is minimal when compared to what is getting into the lake from the river and its tributaries.  And I would venture to guess that the septic systems put in for these homes are much better designed than those installed with the older homes.  I also agree that these homes likely treat their lawns with pesticides and herbicides but today's technologies and products are much more environmentally friendly.  Anyway, my basic point is that the concern about the new homes on the lake is probably overstated when you look at the data.  Not zero, but not what it would appear to be.

Name:	roswellric -	Reply
Subject:	What a difference a decade makes.
Date:	7/7/2017 9:17:05 PM

Yep, I remember that..

Name:	dogleg -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/8/2017 6:51:49 AM

A little earlier in this thread I was comparing the huge increase in boat traffic and apparent increase in ignorance of lake etiquette amongst boat operators with an algae bloom....that's the doom and gloom of the excelerated shoreline development as in, "what a difference ten years makes", not water quality. We have been here since '61 and understand development is what we did and others have every right to as well. My issue is more with multi-family dwellings...condos. Old timers may remember that Alabama Power and Russel Lands once proudly held forth about how much undeveloped shoreline they maintained and they squelched commercial multi family development. All that went out the window after a couple of bad hurricane seasons in Florida drove lakefront property demand to new heights (I'm sure there were other factors as well). 150' of waterfront and a McMansion may put a boat or two, pwcs included, on the lake. Each 150' of lakefront associated with a more densely populated condominium development inevitably puts a lot more boats on the lake per foot of shoreline development. Yeah, turbidity may be up but that's a lot easier to deal with than overpopulation and overuse. Without some consideration of this issue, The Gem here is headed for a fate similar to, say, Lake Sidney Lanier where, on a summer weekend, you can walk from boat to boat to get to the other shore (well, just about).

Name:	HARRY -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/8/2017 10:26:27 AM

My family is fourth generation lake lovers. Most of the older crowd misses the way the lake was. I suppose my kids and grandkids may miss these days when they get old. I reminded them recently that they are part of the problem. They didn't offer to go home until after everyone had finished dinner.lol

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	It's not all gloom and doom
Date:	7/15/2017 1:10:27 PM

In case you missed it, in the last round of heavy storms, Alex City's sewage overflowed it's overflow pond and a bunch of it went into the river that feeds into Lake Martin.  When they interviewed the city officials responsible, they said that it wouldn't affect the lake becasue by the time it got into the lake, it would be so diluted as to not matter.  They are now deepening and widening their overflow pond.  Beside the "ick" factor, I have to say that I don't know if this is true or not.  And while they were dealing with the problem, they found that they need to spend on the order of $38M to replace old pipes. 

I guess this is where infrastructure spending comes in.  No one wants to spend on infrastructure maintenance, until there is a disaster, and then, by the time they realize that something needs to be done, the cost is astronomical.