Atlanta has been all over the news lately regarding our weather woes.  Most of us are now thrilled that it is no longer raining.   For over two weeks there was overcast and rainy weather that led to flooding, primarily around Nancy Creek, Sweetwater Creek and the Chattahooche River.

Though, for some of us, we haven't really seen much.  For those that live in the metro area, not much visible flooding occurred, other than some wet basements and sitting water in low areas.   The city of Atlanta is located on a ridge south of the Chattahoochee, keeping us a little dryer.  Well, there was the flooding of the I-75/I-85 downtown connector that most of us never thought we'd see or would ever expect to see. And the Krog Tunnel near downtown was fit for canoeing during the worst of the disaster, though the restaurant Canoe, which I had been meaning to visit, was nearly entirely underwater from its location on the banks of the river near Buckhead.

There have been sanitary water concerns due to a water treatment plant failing.  Sewage has been mixing with the Chattahoochee, making clean-up more dangerous.  As Creative Loafing put it, don't let you kids play in the flood waters.  

I do feel sad for the families who lost entire homes, and I can't imagine the state of the Chattahoochee once the river goes down.  I imagine there will be a lot of debris and trash.  Hopefully there will be some organized river clean ups.  Appropriately, Rivers Alive with the Sierra Club had previously scheduled a partial river clean-up this coming Saturday at Life University. 

In better news, the reservoirs have been refilling after the long drought.  In the past week, Lake Lanier actually rose about three feet and Lake Allatoona a whooping eleven feet.   Otherwise, besides lingering dampness and humidity, we seem to be moving on.  See this article for ways you can volunteer to help flood victims.  Or if you are looking to move or build a home, make sure you consult the City of Atlanta's Watershed Protection to make sure you aren't in a flood plain and learn how to get flood insurance.