Transcript
Grant Blankenship (0:00)
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Peter Biello (0:18)
Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom on today's episode. Rain helps fight the wildfires, but the drought persists. The state pressures cities to enforce their laws on homelessness and candidates for Georgia governor debate ahead of next month's primary. Georgians see what's happening in Trump's economy. Billionaires and special interests are lining their pockets while you pay the bill. Today is Tuesday, April 28th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. The U.S. army Corps of Engineers is reducing water releases from its reservoirs on the Savannah river because of the region's ongoing drought. Water levels at Clarks Hill lake are about 7ft below full summer Pool agency Savannah District water manager Craig Clark says less water through the dams means less electricity being generated.
Houston Gaines (1:13)
We'll run the other projects a little bit heavier for cepa, the Southeastern Power Association. They will purchase power as well just to make up any kind of deficit, to make sure that there's no shortage of power demand at all.
Peter Biello (1:27)
The move also affects downstream river users and wildlife. We are getting some drought relief today with Moderate showers and AccuWeather meteorologist Chad Merrill says a low pressure trough will force storm systems further south over the
Chad Merrill (1:38)
next few weeks, and it's also going to force the storm track a little bit farther south, so there will be opportunities for rain during the first to the middle part of May. Usually with a storm track like this, there's opportunity for a couple of rounds of severe weather, but the rain will definitely be pretty beneficial when it comes. It does appear that the storm track is pretty fast, so the rain will come in and then it will exit. But at least there's going to be multiple periods of rain during the first to middle part of May.
Peter Biello (2:14)
But he says even that won't be enough to put a major dent in a deficit of between 10 to 15 inches of rainfall needed in one month for drought recovery. The rain is helping in South Georgia, where firefighters continue to make progress in two large wildfires. The Georgia Forestry Commission said today the blaze in Clinch and echols counties was 23% contained and the one in Brantley county is about a third contained. Georgia US Senator Rafael Warnock visited Brantley county yesterday and spoke with reporters afterward.
