FAQs • Gainesville, GA • CivicEngage

What is lake turnover?: Lake turnover typically occurs during Spring and Fall. During the fall, the warm surface water begins to cool. As water cools, it becomes more dense, causing it to sink. This dense water forces the water of the lower level of the lake to rise and switch places with the top levels, "turning over" the layers.

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Water Resources - Taste and Odor

1. What is DWR actively doing to address this issue?: Your Department of Water Resources plant operators and lab personnel monitor your water quality, including taste and odor, constantly on a daily basis. With recent reports of taste and odor, these efforts have increased. Our plant operators are optimizing our plants’ chemical feed systems, washing filters more often and working with our lab personnel to test at an increased frequency. Additionally, we are decreasing the amount of raw water withdrawn at Lakeside Water Treatment Facility from Lake Lanier on the south end of the county. We are increasing the withdrawl on the north end, pulling from deeper depths, and adding more Activated Carbon to reduce taste and odor-causing compounds.

2. What is lake turnover?: Lake turnover typically occurs during Spring and Fall. During the fall, the warm surface water begins to cool. As water cools, it becomes more dense, causing it to sink. This dense water forces the water of the lower level of the lake to rise and switch places with the top levels, "turning over" the layers.