According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.3 km² (14.8 mi²). 38.2 km² (14.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.34%) is water.
Rains boost Lake Lanier; flood S. Georgia Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:30:51 -0400 Rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay has boosted the level of Lake Lanier by more than 2 feet, while in southwest Georgia, a state of emergency has been declared for seven counties inundated by Fay's heavy rain. Lake Lanier's level at 6 p.m. Wednesday was 1,055.52 feet above sea level, up from 1,053.24 feet at midnight Sunday. That's about 22 billion gallons of additional water - enough to supply the region for the next 50 days. The lake is still more than 15 feet below full, although the deficit may be trimmed a bit more as runoff from the recent rains makes its way down tributaries. Budget cuts could close 13 parks Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:46:45 -0400 Leave it to a 6-year-old to provide perspective at a state budget session where parks and historic sites are under the ax. "I'll give them all my money," Claire told her father Tom Mills. Mills, a member of the board of directors of the parks' nonprofit advocacy group called Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites who lives in Grayson, told the story Wednesday to the Board of Natural Resources with Claire in the audience. "So maybe there's a funding source there," he joked. Atlanta region to spend federal funds on diesels Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:59:43 -0400 The Atlanta region is poised to spend $36 million of its federal transportation funds on diesel locomotives owned by private rail companies so they will pollute less. The Atlanta Regional Commission on Wednesday approved the money. Final approval now rests with the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which is expected to vote on the matter Sep. 10. State regulators said they had little choice but to request spending the money on the companies, because of the setup of federal laws and regulations. The law may punish the Atlanta region for poor air quality that some of the old locomotives help cause, but it exempts rail companies from state regulation.