update:
A total of about 5 raindrops is all we got then the sun came out and there was no more rain! Oh sigh! Now what really perturbs me is this... I have heard on the news just over the past 24 hours that the Army Corps of Engineers and the government are to blame for much of the water shortage. Yes, lack of rain is the ultimate reason, however, apparently there are some fish and mussels that are on the brink of extinction and need the water in order to flourish and be saved so the COE on orders from the government has been releasing billions of gallons of water each day from the various lakes to go downstream into Florida and Alabama in order to save these fish and mussels. I am all for saving life that is becoming extinct but not at the cost of humans having to do without water. It is predicted that Atlantans only have 80 days of drinking water left... then what??? All for saving some fish and mussels, come on! Now I understand why the COE lakes were so low all summer and why I could see the results daily. Sorry to be up on a soapbox today but I needed to vent about this. If what I am hearing is true, and I have no reason not to believe it, then I think it is ridiculous to be putting fish and mussels ahead of human needs when it comes to water. OK, that's my 2 cents worth!
---------------
What is that sound I hear outside? Oh, I believe it is the sound of raindrops! So far that is all it is… just a few drops... but it is the most we’ve seen in a very long time. The drought is really bad here in the southeast. So far the state of South Carolina has not issued any mandatory water restrictions but I feel it is only a matter of time. Both North Carolina and Georgia have mandatory water restrictions and I am sure those reading this blog have heard on the national news just how serious it is in the Atlanta area. Five million people in metro Atlanta have less than 2 months supply of water left. The lakes all around have nearly dried up. We spent all summer at Lake Hartwell and I could tell daily that the water level was receding. Debbie, remember our site when you and Rusty visited? Well a week later the water level there had receded about another 30 feet or more. You could hardly see any water from that site by the time we left there. The beach areas at all of the campgrounds had dried up early in the summer and the sandy areas went way beyond the markers for the safe swimming area. It’s bad! So hopefully this rainfall that is in our area now will be of some help. Hopefully it will amount to more than just these few drops.
