Drought worsens already tough economic times for lake communities
by
Jeanne Bonner
Georgia Online News Service
Dock South in Hartwell had 16 full-time employees as recently as 2007.
Today, after the company's dock sales fell more than 60 percent in 2008, it has no full-time employees, according to Bill Griggs, the company's managing member. To keep money coming in, Griggs has begun working for a company that manufactures metal roofs and siding for homes.
Dock South is one of many marine-related businesses in the Georgia lakes region that are struggling.
As cities and towns throughout Georgia and the U.S. grapple with falling homes sales, layoffs and tight credit, residents in the lakes region have the added burden of dealing with a drought that is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Lake Hartwell and Lake Lanier are both more than 10 feet below normal water levels. While recent rain and snowfall have added some water to the lakes, experts say it's unlikely either lake will be at full pool this year.
Real estate agents say the low lake levels mean many residents who would like to sell their homes are forced to rent them instead, or sell the houses at a loss. And as water levels interfere with boating and other recreational activities, the owners of second homes at the lakes, whom retailers, restaurants and other businesses depend on heavily, are spending less time, and less money in the towns that surround the lakes.
The low lake levels have exacted such a toll on Hart, Franklin and Stephens counties that a bi-state study will commence Wednesday to quantify how the drought has affected tax revenue, land values and economic development in those communities.
"It is a struggle in this area with the economy and with the lake levels being low," said Michele Dipert, president of the Hart County Chamber of Commerce in Hartwell. "We see people not going out to eat as often. We are praying it gets better."
A drive around the lakes in North Georgia quickly reveals a terrain that has been badly deformed by the drought. At Big Creek on Lake Lanier, a dock is grounded inland about 15 feet. On Lake Hartwell, many boat ramps are closed, and some tributaries in Georgia and South Carolina are almost completely dry. The drought has unwittingly extended the shoreline in many areas, providing lake-goers with unsightly beaches dotted weeds and sharp rocks.
Not surprisingly, home sales fell 50 percent on Lake Lanier last year, according to the 2009 Native Intelligence Report from The Norton Agency, a real estate firm in Gainesville.
"We are seeing a big decline in the second-home market. It is going to be that way for a while," said Arlene Ingram, of Prudential Georgia Realty, near Lake Lanier, who's been selling real estate since 1976. "If you don't have to sell it, hang onto it for another day. I hate it."
Ingram said her listings won't sell unless the owners offer the houses at a bargain. She has had one listing for at least a year. Her advice to clients? "Lower the price. There is nothing else we can do," she said.
Retailers say the area is a magnet for nature enthusiasts and other daytrippers, who will continue to spend time on the lakes and frequent shops and restaurants. But many also say the role the second homeowners play in the local economy cannot be exaggerated.
Thomas Love, who bought Lavonia Antique and Design Center in Lavonia last year, said some people have visited his shop to sell him items they no longer use at their second homes on Lake Hartwell.
"What it comes down to is, they are not coming as often. There's no water so they are not coming up," Love said of the second-home owners.
Love himself tried to sell a home in Lavonia near Tugaloo Park but he took off it the market at the end of last year because he could not sell it.
"I don't see it coming back for another three or four years," he said.
The drought began three years ago and, in addition to interrupting residential and commercial growth in north Georgia near the lakes, it has threatened the water supply of metro Atlanta, which is home to about 5 million people. It's sparked controversy between Georgia and other states over water rights, and also between the counties that border the lake and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the flow of water through Lake Hartwell.
For many businesses, the drought has brought a steady, protracted erosion of sales. Griggs of Dock South said the first hint of trouble was the Atlanta Boat Show in 2007, when for the first time, the company didn't sell any docks.
Griggs, who is chairman of the Hart County Chamber, said it's not just individual businesses that are suffering. He said the counties are collecting less revenue from the sales tax, and the school systems are also suffering.
"We depend so much on the money coming from Atlanta, and to a lesser extent Greenville," Griggs said.
The Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Clemson University has already begun preliminary work on the economic study that will look at the drought's impact on the six counties in Georgia and South Carolina that border Lake Hartwell. G. Michael Mikota, director of the study and a research associate at the institute, will kick off the official start of the $211,000 study on Wednesday with a meeting with representatives from the six counties.
The study, which is expected to take a year, will look at the relationship between sales tax revenue in the six counties and lake levels over a ten-year period. Mikota said that's never been done before.
"Nobody knows. Nobody can say, 'This is the effect of when the lake drops this much,'" he said.
The study will not only provide findings but also recommendations for mitigating the economic impact of the lake levels.
In the meantime, residents and businesspeople are trying to keep their spirits up. As of the first week of March, Lake Lanier was higher than it had been in 2008, and the Army Corps of Engineers re-opened boat ramps on the lake. Precipitation that fell earlier this month also caused the level of Lake Hartwell to rise.
"We are trying to be very positive. We are happy whenever it rains," said Dipert of the Hart Chamber.
Jeanne Bonner is the senior business writer at Georgia Online News Service. [full bio]
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