Athens Flagpole: Water Woes Not Solved

By Ben Emanuel

Here's a Georgia issue you're sure to hear this year's candidates for governor and General Assembly expound upon: water. As a state we're still not prepared for the next drought, the courtroom clock is ticking in the tri-state water war, and inside Georgia many communities downstream from Metro Atlanta (hey, that's most of us!) are as wary as ever about the big behemoth sucking up supplies. So, how to separate lip service from real solutions?

Let's start with the water war, since the news buzz last week indicated that a negotiated tri-state compact is still nowhere near reality. Success in other mainline approaches to solving the problem of Judge Paul Magnuson's July 2012 deadline, such as hoping for a Georgia win in a court appeal, is no more likely right now either. But commonsense solutions rooted in water conservation and efficiency—that is, shrinking the Metro Atlanta demand problem rather than grasping for a way around it—could still do the job.

OK, so what about that Georgia Water Stewardship Act that the legislature passed this year? That bill is a very good first step… but that's about it. The most comprehensive water conservation legislation in Georgia to date, the Water Stewardship Act provides for year-round daytime outdoor watering restrictions and calls for increased efficiency in all new construction starting in 2012.

Those efficiency measures can save Metro Atlanta 23.4 million gallons of water per day by the year 2035. That's about 3.5 percent of the water demand in Metro Atlanta during the 2000s, and only 2.1 percent of the demand anticipated in 2035 based on figures prepared by the Metro North
Georgia Water Planning District. Can't we do better than that? Um, yeah.

Here are a few more measures that would make good sense statewide and, if implemented in Metro Atlanta, would save the area much more water—potentially nearing 200 million gallons per day (MGD). First, all communities should cut down on leaks in their water utility distribution
pipes. (The Water Stewardship Act requires better measuring and reporting of leaks, but we’ll still need to eliminate them!) A robust effort here could save 30 to 60 MGD in metro-area counties.

Second is conservation pricing to encourage efficient water use. Athens now has a water conservation rate structure that may be the best in the state. Our tiered structure could serve as a model for other communities, and in Metro Atlanta that could save 55 to 80 MGD.

Third, let's talk about incentives for water efficiency retrofits, not just requirements for new construction. Why ignore the thousands upon thousands of old toilets that are wasting water with every flush, the outdated showerheads that are sending so much extra water down the
drain? Everyone in Athens has done a lot through conscious water conservation to reduce our demand ever since the shortage in '07, but think how much more we could save by comprehensively swapping out old fixtures for new, efficient ones. In Metro Atlanta, the savings from retrofits could be as high as 55 MGD.

One more thing for the candidates, and this one's important: let's bring smart, sustainable water policy together with overwhelming political reality and create meaningful restrictions on transfers of water among Georgia's river basins. Scores of state legislators from both parties and all corners of the state supported legislation to govern interbasin transfers (IBTs) this past session, but the state's power structure appears unwilling to grant other parts of the state—or our ownstream neighbors in Florida and Alabama—the same water-supply security that Metro Atlanta enjoys, the Magnuson ruling notwithstanding.

If you’re wondering what Atlanta’s water problems have to do with the rest of us Georgians, the threat of more IBTs is the answer. And if you need a local example, look no further than the report from Gov. Perdue’s Water Contingency Task Force last fall, which identified the proposed
Hard Labor Creek reservoir in the Apalachee/Oconee basin as a possible water source, via pipeline, for Gwinnett County.

This is a basic question of environmental and economic sustainability, and just like our approach to cutting water waste, the IBT question may be a litmus test on Georgia's water future. Listen carefully this summer, everybody.

Ben Emanuel

Ben Emanuel is on staff at the Athens-based Georgia River Network, and is the Oconee Projects Coordinator for Altamaha Riverkeeper, Inc. He was Flagpole City Editor from 2005 to 2009. Read more about this topic and others on GRN's Georgia Water Wire blog at http://gawaterwire.wordpress.com.