Water

For a variety of reasons, Georgia finds itself engaged in the worst drought in our state’s history. We are experiencing a multiple year drought with a severity beyond what we have seen and recorded in the past. These years of below-average rainfall, combined with record-breaking summer temperatures have taken a serious toll on our water supply. Within the last month we have seen predications from national weather services and climatologists that say the next several months will not bring much rainfall. Additionally, the federally mandated flow to endangered species means that up to 3 billion gallons of water is released from Lake Lanier everyday. The lakes and reservoirs that provide water to a third of all Georgians are dangerously low, and it has become clear that our conservation efforts must be stepped up.

Now is the time for all of us to band together as a community and focus our efforts to conserve water. I would like to thank everybody who has already been doing their part to cut back on consumption, and I hope you will continue to lead by example and encourage your neighbors to join you in these efforts. Governor Perdue has called upon all citizens and businesses in the counties affected by this drought to cut their water usage by 10%. I support him in this call.

Conservation is only part of the solution to this crisis, and I want to assure you that your elected leaders both here and in Washington are doing everything they can to create a strategy that will ensure the long-term viability of North Georgia’s water. We cannot control the weather, however, so while this drought persists we ask that you please do everything you can to conserve. Sacrifices such as dirty cars and dry lawns are a small price to pay to make sure that we have enough water to sustain us in the future.

Some little things that we can all do right now to conserve water include:

Wash only full loads of dishes and laundry. You'll not only save water, but energy as well.
Take a shower instead of a bath. Filling the bathtub uses about 50 gallons of water and you can save 30 gallons by taking a shower.
Shorten your shower to five minutes. Cut back on your shower time and you will rack up big savings in water and energy.
Fix leaking faucets and toilets. An average of 8% of all home water use is wasted through leaks.

You can find these and other great tips for conserving water at www.conservewatergeorgia.net. This website has been created by the Department of Natural Resources and provides a wealth of information. I encourage you to check it out.

Georgia's Environmental Proctection Division also has a website that lists many useful links to updates on water restrictions and exemptions at www.gaepd.org/Documents/outdoorwater.html

The University of Georgia’s College of Agriculture is also a great resource for information about the current drought situation. You can find them on the web at www.caes.uga.edu/topics/disasters/drought/.

Governor Perdue also recently announced more flexibility in outdoor water usage by providing exemptions during the Level Four Drought Repsonse balanced with renewed conservation efforts. For the full press release, click here.

We will continue to provide updates as we work towards a short-term and long-term solution, so please check back here frequently. As always, if you have concerns or questions, feel free to call our office at 404-656-5030.

RECENT PRESS RELEASES AND STATEMENTS REGARDING WATER:

1/18/08 - Lt. Governor Casey Cagle Applauds Senate Passage of Statewide Water Management Plan

10/25/07 - Cagle and Richardson Announce Reservoir Development and Drought Relief Act

10/19/07 - Statement Regarding Georgia's Legal Action

Associated Document(s):

	FAQ Modifications to Outdoor Water Use Requirements.pdf

	Level Four Drought Response Map.pdf

10/16/07 - ABC world news tonight coverage of the water crisis