I'm really sorry you guys - I have been a real mess lately because of the flooding problems back home and I can't find much else to think about. I am never happy these days, about anything. I can't sleep for shiit. I can hardly focus on my job. All I want to do is lay in bed and cry.
There was a public meeting last night in my hometown with the Corps of Engineers. Basically, they told the residents to prepare for 1458 feet - which means to prepare for the lake to reach its spillover elevation. They will not release any water until the outlets are finished next summer. That is too late (it's really been too late for more than ten years at this point). Even when the outlets are finished, they are only capable of releasing a little bit of water anyway - not any amount that will make any significant difference.
I understand that it's a complex issue, and that government is hard to work through. But this has been going on for two decades. When they say that they just haven't had enough time to figure something out, I can't believe them. Every time they did impact studies, it wasted our time and theirs. They've wasted so much money on keeping the water back to protect downstream people and it's done nothing but flood out everyone else in the basin, and it's pretty evident to me that the downstream people are screwed now too.
When the lake reaches that level my family will be out of business and I find it pretty hard to believe anyone could live up there. It's impossible enough to live there right now as it is. Small towns are being swallowed. Family farms that have lasted for generations are being inundated. People are being trapped, stranded or forced to flee. School buses, ambulances, even the fucking mail can't get in. My sister and brother in law were in town visiting us over the weekend and remarked how wonderful it was to drive on a road that wasn't surrounded by water on both sides.
I'm just beside myself. I can't believe it ever reached this point and I am so angry at those unimaginable bastard fuckbags for allowing this to happen and telling the people to just be patient. It's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen.
All I want to do is cry.
