Atlanta Water Shortage

It’s August, so it’s time to welcome back the scorching temperatures.  The Lawrenceville Weather Blog is reporting that today was unofficially the hottest day of the year so far.  Last August was brutally hot across Georgia, resulting in a significant drop in Lake Lanier’s water level.  It’s unlikely that this year will be quite that hot, as it was the one of the hottest Augusts since 1980.

Despite the cooler temperatures, we could still see another large drop in Lanier’s level.  As rkolter pointed out, last year we had a ton of restrictions and people were very water-conscious.  This year there are fewer restrictions in place and water is rarely in the news.

Last August saw a drop of 2.37 feet (1064.14 to 1061.77).  Do you think August will see a greater drop, a lesser drop, or no drop at all?

According to an article on 11Alive, we might be looking at tighter water restrictions next month.  Rain has been quite sparce this month, and Lake Lanier has dropped nearly a foot.

The state EPD director, Carol Couch, will make a decision next month.

What do you think she should do?  Why?

11Alive has a brief article explaining some changes to Rome’s water restrictions.  Three days per week, between midnight and 10am, residents can:

• Water their lawns and gardens
• Wash their cars
• Put water in their swimming pools

The state EPD (Environmental Protection Division) approved the changes.

The city of Atlanta wants to tighten their water restrictions, but now has to jump through some hoops.

On May 14, Gov. Perdue signed House Bill 1281, which made it illegal for any local government to override the state’s water restrictions without permission.  The Environmental Protection Division is reviewing the request, along with a request to reduce restrictions in Coweta County.

To clear things up, here are the current restrictions for most of north Georgia:

• No sprinklers. Use a hand-held garden hose with an automatic shut-off only. Only one hose at a time.
• Water three days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for houses with odd-numbered addresses and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for houses with even-numbered addresses.
• Water between midnight and 10 a.m.
• Water for 25 minutes only.
• More liberal rules for new landscaping allow sprinklers for ten weeks after planting new grass, shrubs, trees and flowers, on the three-day schedule and limited hours.
  • To use the more lenient rules, homeowners must be certified through an on-line course given by the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council at www.urbanagcouncil.com. Certification is also available from each county’s extension agent.