Less water will flow out of Lake Lanier for another month — if the weather stays as predicted.According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the water release at Buford Dam, the releases will continue at 650 cubic feet per second until April 30.In November, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources requested the reduction to conserve water storage on the lake. That was originally approved until the end of March.The target flow is 750 cfs, but according to the DNR, fishable streams could be maintained through the end of the month with the reduced flow.It provided the corps information on the effects the continued reduction would have, and, after evaluating the data, the corps determined the additional month would have no negative effects on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system.“It should have no effect during the time frame it’s in place,” said E. Patrick Robbins, a corps spokesman.Robbins said the reduction out of Buford Dam will be “invisible to the general public seeing releases” but could prove beneficial for the southern portion of the river system in the warmer months.According to Robbins, the corps predicts the upper portion of the water system, including Lake Lanier, will have a 50 percent chance of normal rainfall over the summer.The southern portion, however, will see very little rain.The extra storage on Lanier will help keep the flow of quality water during those months at a level that meets environmental requirements. “If that becomes the case, the more water you can get into Lanier now, the more water you will have in the summer to meet any flow requirements downstream that can’t be met due to dry conditions,” Robbins said.When the water system does not receive enough rainfall to meet the required flow in warm weather, the aquatic environment starts to lose oxygen, essential for all forms of life in the system.“Keeping storage in the lake gives flexibility in the coming months for how the corps can operate the system as a whole,” said Gail Cowie, state DNR assistant branch chief for the river basins.