Ft. Benning: more water for BRAC

Secondary settling basin at one of the post's three aging water-treatment plants. (Dave Bender)

Fort Benning near Columbus today inaugurated an upgraded, higher-flow water treatment system, fed from the Chattahoochee River. But officials say the post's use won't affect the river's drought-strained water levels upstream.

The step is part of an upgrade for the post's three aging water treatment facilities, which had previously only drawn water from the nearby Upatoi Creek.

Army officials say they expect a sharp increase in usage in coming years: 30,000 troops and their families that will join their ranks, as an entire armor school from Fort Knox transfers here as part of the nationwide Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

Post garrison Commander Colonel Keith Lovejoy is responsible for coordinating the project with state and local agencies.

Lovejoy says he doesn't foresee future water usage conflicts with the Army Corps of Engineers, and says they are planning their water usage together:

“They are controlling all of our growth here. they're the ones that are issuing the contracts here; they're the ones making sure the pipes are right, they're making sure that we have enough water.”

Lovejoy adds that all of the agencies dealing with the issue, meet regularly to ensure the 184,000 acre training base has enough water for the nearly 110,000 troops that pass through it's gates annually:

“...As a matter of fact, once a month we get everybody together: the Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Columbus Water Works, Flint Electricity; just put everybody together in the same room to make sure that the impact, and what everybody's doing to everybody else is working.”

Dr. Carol Couch of the Environmental Protection Division says the post's water needs won't significantly affect the Chattahoochee's water levels.

Couch says the area has six-to-10 times the water flow of upstream communities in the Atlanta area. She says state meteorologists see the drought continuing this summer, and is encouraging Georgia's residents make conserving water a regular part of their life:

“Conserving ought to be something we do every day, and adapting and modifying how we use water. and it isn't really a radical change in lifestyle; it's just something that ought to be as natural as – for most people today – clipping a seat belt together.”

Columbus Water Works officials say the city purifies and returns about 90 percent of the water it uses to the river, and don't foresee the post's expected usage to be a problem.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and the effects of the expected BRAC move to the area.

Local officials slam state water plan

Shoal-marker and vegetation, both once submerged in West Point Lake, show extent of drought. (file photo/Dave Bender)

An eleventh hour change in the plan seeks to allocate water according to so-called “service delivery regions,” and not by watershed.

That concept didn't sit well with Bob Tant, Columbus Water Works vice-president:

"They introduced this change right at the last minute, and it was such a major change, it almost begs anyone who follows this process to have to bail out on the plan."

Critics decried what they say was a lack of local influence in decision-making. They fear the water plan serves political and business needs of Atlanta, more than those of communities downstream.

About 40 officials and experts attended the final round of these statewide meeting.

The final draft will go before the state legislature in January.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the water crisis.

Corps starts twice-daily water releases

The Chattahoochee River south of Atlanta is filling up faster than normal, thanks to U.S. Army Corps of Engineer releases to keep downstream locations covered.

The Corps says it's started twice-daily releases from Lake Lanier, in order to protect Fla. shellfish on the Apalachicola River. Federal law requires the Corps to keep three point-two-billion gallons flowing southward daily.

Columbus Water Works President Billy Turner official says that's likely to continue, if the quantity of water meets the Endangered Species requirements.

Fish and Wildlife officials will monitor the health of the mussels downstream, to determine of they can survive in lesser amounts of water. If so, the Corps will gradually cut back on the amounts released.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Ft. Benning: cutting water usage

Water level at Upatoi Creek, Ft. Benning. (Nat'l Weather Service)

Ft. Benning officials say the post, which uses an estimated six million gallons of water daily, is taking steps to slash that use, in light of the statewide, 10-percent cutback ordinance.

The post, which has an on-site water purification plant, is working with Columbus Water Works officials to adjust its usage, according to Garrison Commander, Col. Keith Lovejoy:

"We are in close coordination with Columbus Water Works to mirror exactly what the local community is doing to conserve resources -- no watering of lawns, no washing of cars. We are also looking at other measures to conserve water at our commercial operations."

In related news, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Lake Lanier, expects the lake will be nearly 21 feet below full by December 7th. That will be its lowest point since the lake was built in the 1950s.

Meanwhile, however, Georgia is withdrawing its lawsuit against the Corps over how the group releases water from Georgia reservoirs.

Click here to read more on that and other GPB News drought coverage.

(With The Associated Press)

Columbus wants off level-4 drought list

Ankle-deep, midstream in the Chattahoochee River,
looking north to the 13th St. Bridge. (Dave Bender)

The Columbus Water Works wants the city to be taken off the level-four drought list, saying the designation is unfair.

Water Works Executive Vice President Bob Tant, says the state should lower the city to the less-strict stage two designation. He says Columbus is carrying an unjust burden, compared to other parts of Georgia:

“The contribution to any savings that Columbus can make -- at best -- is really, very small, and is, in fact, dwarfed by the flows that would be taken out of the lower end [of the Chattahoochee River] into the Apalachicola [River].”

Tant says city residents have largely followed the ban, and that overall daily usage dropped from 39 to 23 million gallons since the ban went into effect at the end of September.

He added that Columbus, dubbed the “Fountain City,” has turned off all the decorative downtown waterworks, and that educational institutions have followed suit.

While repeat ban-breakers might have their water turned off, the city is not levying fines against violators.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Columbus: no fines for breaking watering ban

Chattahoochee River (Columbus State University partially visible on left bank), during late afternoon water release. Dillingham St. Bridge to Phenix City, Ala., is in the distance. (Dave Bender)

The Columbus City Council on Tuesday decided not to levy fines for residential outdoor water usage – this, despite the stage four, total ban on such use in Muscogee Co.

Columbus Water Works Executive Vice President Bob Tant, who attended the session, says the motion to impose fines on offenders was tabled for future review by the Columbus Water Board.

The proposed fines would have ranged from $100 to $1,000, depending on how many citations the offender had received. Residential users now receive a warning notice for breaking the ban, a letter for the second infraction, and a possible water cutoff -- depending on circumstances -- according to Tant.

Tant says the total ban is unfair to Columbus:

"We feel that it's somewhat unfair that we have invested in our utility, so that a large portion of the water will go back to the river; and other communities in north Georgia -- under the same restrictions -- have developed on septic tanks, and have no sanitary sewer systems, and are not returning that water to the river, so, we think it's a problem."

Tant says city residents have largely followed the ban. He noted that overall usage dropped from 39 to 23 million gallons a day, since the ban went into effect at the end of September.

Latoya Moore, a Water Works customer service representative, said that, although the majority of clients were limiting their water usage, they were receiving approximately five complaints a week from disgruntled users dissatisfied with the ban, or requesting exemptions.

Tant added that Columbus, dubbed the “Fountain City,” has turned off all the decorative downtown waterworks. He said educational institutions, like Columbus State University and Muscogee Co. schools have followed suit, and are leaving some lawns and athletic facilities dry.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Drought Affecting GA's Colleges and Universities

As the drought continues to worsen, Georgia’s colleges and universitites are taking drastic action to preserve their campuses.

Berry College, in Rome, is looking for water in a closed quarry on campus that ran off an under ground aquifer attached to the Oostanaula River. College officials say if the water quality is good and the aquifer refills continuously, Berry could have a new source of water, needed for its growing number students.

At the University of Georgia, outdoor watering is now completely restricted, which means no water for Sanford Stadium or campus lawns.

UGA spokesman, Tom Jackson, says the university may have to ask for an exception to the watering restrictions for its Botanical Gardens.

“It’s a collection that contains rare and endangered species. It’s like an art museum taking care of their paintings. It would be irresponsible to let that collection die to lack of water,” said Jackson.

And at Georgia Southern, a new irrigation system was recently added. It runs off recycled rain water that flows off roofs and parking lots, into ponds that pump the water over campus.

Columbus mulling lawsuit over ‘Hooch water use

Chattahoochee River, July 4, 2007: sandbars illustrate
lack of water. Columbus is on right, 13th St. bridge to
Phenix City, AL, is in background. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The city of Columbus is considering filing a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers over reduced access to the Chattahoochee River.

The city council first discussed the issue in June, and a resolution giving the go-ahead for the lawsuit was agreed upon at a closed session on July 10.

The city says that unless the waterworks and water treatment facilities get their full allocation mandated by its state permit, they may have to spend millions in equipment upgrades.

Mayor Jim Wetherington and Governor Sonny Perdue have met twice in recent weeks to discuss the issue.

The council is set to decide the matter on Tuesday.

New stream rules create water quagmire

A recent vote by the state's Department of Natural Resources requires all of Georgia's 159 counties to establish minimum buffers along all of the states streams and tributaries, even those on private land. The new rules mean counties must establish a 150-foot buffer zone on both sides of all potential drinking water sources, no matter how small. If a county refuses to adopt the new guidelines, they'll be cut off from all future state funding. Steve Gooch heads Lumpkin County's Board of Commissioners. His family has owned land in the county for nearly a century. Gooch says the new regulations are unfair to property owners because they make 350 feet of land unavailable for development, but landowners still have to pay property taxes on the land. Under the new rules, counties must also establish an extensive list of monitoring and education programs. No final date has been set for implementation of the new rules. However, the City of Dahlonega is under pressure to adopt the new guidelines. The state won't let the City sell water to Lumpkin County until it does.

Columbus: Water Works filing suit against Corps of Engineers

The City of Columbus may join a federal lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers. At stake are water use rights in the Chattahoochee River.

The City of Columbus's Water Works is asking the city council to join its case. It contends that the city isn't getting it's fair share of water. The plaintiffs say the corps is mainly looking after Atlanta's interests, at the expense of other downstream users.

Clifton Fey, an attorney for the City Council, says they will discuss the issue: “The Water Works and the City Council here in Columbus are going to take all necessary steps to protect the interests of all Columbus water users, and those of people downstream. It will be on the Columbus City Council agenda next week.”

Georgia, Florida and Alabama filed four similar lawsuits in US district Court in March. But the Water Works say those suits do not adequately represent Columbus's interests.

Columbus, Phenix City accord: a river runs through it

Columbus and Phenix City have agreed to share water resources, despite the ongoing water war between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

Officials from both cities held a ceremony on Thursday on a bridge over the Chattahoochee River, marking the accord. A pipe siphoning water from the river just north of Columbus connects both cities’ systems.

Columbus uses about 30 million gallons of water daily. Phenix City uses far less daily – about six to eight million gallons.

The accord is meant to allow mutual aid in an emergency situation, like Katrina or terrorism.

Billy Turner, President of the Columbus Water Works, says that while the agreement has no bearing on the ongoing water war between the two states and Florida, it does show mutual goodwill.

”In some ways, people think the river divides us; but in Columbus and in Phenix City, we believe it’s what connects us.”

Turner says either city would be willing to supply the other with up to eight million gallons of water a day, in an emergency.

Phenix City plans to draw off about one million gallons a day in coming weeks, while they work on their water system.