Chamblee54

Peach Pundit took a timeout from lurid rumors today. They had a story about a proposed
reservoir for Atlanta. The site is the Dawson Forest . a 1000 acre tract near Dawsonville.
Water is an issue in Atlanta. Unlike New Orleans, which is sinking because of too much water, Atlanta is drying up. The metro area is 1000 feet above sea level, and 250 miles from salt water. The watershed uphill from Atlanta is tiny. The Chattahoochee River is an overgrown trout stream, and yet millions of the itp/otp crowd depend on it for water. Historically, developers have ignored this reality, and built as if there was no tomorrow.
There are two problems here. Alabama and Florida claim a share of the Chattahoochee water. The last Federal Judge to comment sided with Gators and Crimson Tide. Atlanta cannot expect to take as much water as it likes from the Chattahoochee forever.
The second problem is the unpleasant reality that there might not be any water to take. In 2007, a drought almost dried up Lake Lanier. The possibility of running dry was real. The nuclear power plant at Eufala AL came within a foot of water from being forced to shut down. ( Why a nuclear plant was built on this river is anyone’s guess.) With unstable weather likely, due to rising C02 levels and natural cycles, the possibility of a killer drought cannot be ruled out.
In 1971, the City of Atlanta bought a 10,000 acre tract of land in Dawson County. The idea was to use the land for a second airport. A similar tract of land was bought in Paulding County. Developers want to build a 2000 acre lake, and surround it with lakefront houses. There are a few issues with this plan.
There are some environmental concerns, including rare species that would be endangered. (This might help build support for the reservoir plan in certain communities.) The water for the reservoir would be flowing into Alabama..in other words, Georgia would be stealing water from Alabama. With the two states trying to negotiate a solution to their water conflict, this does not look good. There is also the history of the Dawson Forest.
From “the fifties” until 1971, this land was the site of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory. Lockheed and the Air Force tried to build a nuclear powered airplane here. When that did not work, the used a 10 megawatt reactor, operating in the open, to test the effects of radiation on wildlife.
The reactor was “air shielded”. It was kept in a concrete pool, and raised into the air when it was in use. A series of underground buildings and tunnels was used while the reactor was at work.
In 1960, various rat populations were introduced into the woods and fields around the reactor. “The effects on the various rat populations introduced included increased mortality rate (often 100%), immobility, disorientation, and graying or whitening of pelts.”
In 1971, the reactor was decommissioned, and the experiments halted. The land was sold to the City of Atlanta. Some local wildmen managed to get onto the site, and found some interesting things. Supposedly, the part that is going to be a reservoir is not the part where the nuclear radiation experiments were conducted. Nonetheless, you have to wonder just how accurate those claims are, when there is money to be made.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress .