Atlanta Water Shortage

I took a look at the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management website (http://www.AtlantaWatershed.org) and found a neat interactive projects map. This map shows all the current projects going on in the greater Atlanta area. The orange cones are local projects and the blue cones are city wide projects. You will need Flash installed to use the map, but roll your mouse over the cones and click them and you can see the details on the individual projects. Here is the link to the map:

Interactive Project Map

Straight from an AJC article, it talks about the big picture for Lake Lanier. Weeds and shrubs have invaded the shore and boat ramps end way before they reach the water and the impact reaches out beyond just the lake.

The relentless drought that first crept into metro Atlanta more than two and a half years ago has many victims, from landscapers to fishing guides. None show more visible scars than Lanier.

Last year, the lake’s red clay-ringed shoreline made national news, along with dire warnings that the South’s capital city could run out of water. Lanier is out of the spotlight this year, but not much better off.

This last comment seems to echo many of the posters here, Lake Lanier seems very much out of the spotlight this year and receives very little attention.

My wife and I have this exact same water filter and dispenser and it has worked great for us for a long time. Very easy to fill up and it stores a ton of water - while it’s getting chilled nicely in the fridge - absoultely love this product.

Keep your water clear of chemicals and odors with this dispenser from PUR. Its advanced filtration system reduces more contaminants (lead, copper, zinc, etc.) than any other pour-through filter. Plus, the dispenser’s narrow, sleek build fits neatly in the refrigerator or sink, while handles make it easy to fill and carry. Each filter has a lifespan of about one to two months (or roughly 40 gallons of water). A handy gauge indicates when the filter needs to be replaced. Clean the dispenser with mild soap and a dry towel.

With Christmas only days away, here is a great product from Amazon for distilling water right in your own home. This distiller produces 4 gallons of pure water per day. This product has excellent customer reviews - over 61 people on Amazon have written detailed comments about this product.

If anyone else has any great ideas for water distillers, post your comments here, given that this is the holiday season we will post a few more water based products to get some good feedback and maybe find you that great gift for your loved one.

The locally heavy rains in Atlanta have raised Lake Lanier’s water level from 1050 feet and 11.88 inches on Dec. 9th to 1051 feet and 6.24 inches today at 5:15 EST - a gain of almost 6.5 inches!

The heavy rainfall in the area has caused many of the local rivers to rise and the runoff has helped build Lake Lanier’s level. There is still a flood watch in effect for North and South Fulton as of 11:08am EST, though it looks like the heaviest rains are in the past.

Straight from the USGS Georgia website here are some great tips to helping improve urban stormwater runoff:

• Keep litter, pet wastes, leaves, and debris out of street gutters and storm drains–these outlets drain directly to lake, streams, rivers, and wetlands.
• Apply lawn and garden chemicals sparingly and according to directions.
• Dispose of used oil, antifreeze, paints, and other household chemicals properly, not in storm sewers or drains. If your community does not already have a program for collecting household hazardous wastes, ask your local government to establish one.
• Clean up spilled brake fluid, oil, grease, and antifreeze. Do not hose them into the street where they can eventually reach local streams and lakes.
• Control soil erosion on your property by planting ground cover and stabilizing erosion-prone areas.
• Encourage local government officials to develop construction erosion/sediment control ordinances in your community.
• Have your septic system inspected and pumped, at a minimum, every 3-5 years so that it operates properly.
• Purchase household detergents and cleaners that are low in phosphorous to reduce the amount of nutrients discharged into our lakes, streams and coastal waters.

What are you doing to help water quality? Are there other things you can think of that aren’t included in this list? Personally I own a paint company and we’re very diligent about disposing and cleaning our latex and oil paints - we don’t just clean them out over storwater runoff drains, we take care of it in our shop. It’s a small thing, but it certainly helps.

Augusta Georgia got that nickname in the 19th century because of the canal they built in 1845, modeled after one built in Lowell Massachusetts.

Augusta’s canal was modeled after the canal system in Lowell, Mass., where engineers built canals to amplify water power on the Merrimack River near Boston in the early 1800s.

Read more about the Augusta Canal.

The canal and its dozens of industries helped move the South away from dependence on the industrialized North. And when the Civil War broke out, it attracted a major Confederate industry: the great Powderworks.