North Georgia Water Restrictions Get Slight Alteration

Partial relief has arrived for north Georgia residents under tough outdoor watering restrictions. Drip irrigation and soaker hoses are now OK to use for up to one hour--three days a week before 10am. However, the state’s top environmental official says nothing else has changed. State Enviromental Protection Division head Carol Couch says the 55-county north Georgia region remains in a record-setting drought, now moving into a fourth year.

Couch says the increase in north Georgia water use would be in a range she sees as acceptable. However, with an unreasonable rise in water use or worsening drought, the loosened restrictions could again be tightened in the future.

Ongoing drought may mean re-tightening the faucet

Lake Allatoona, north of Atlanta: bridge over troubled waters (Dave Bender/file)

Environmental Protection Division chief Carol Couch, said Wednesday the state's deepening drought may force her to tighten a range of water restrictions loosened earlier this year.

Couch says she will evaluate water use in the state next month, and decide whether to impose new restrictions for the dozens of communities in north Georgia where some watering limits have been relaxed.

The announcement came as state climatologist David Stooksbury declared that soaring summer temperatures and light rainfall have plunged more of Georgia into drought conditions.

Couch has faced criticism from some environmentalists who say relaxing water restrictions during the drought could send conflicting messages about the state's water crisis and set the stage for tighter limits in the fall. But Couch is also under pressure from agriculture groups, who fear a new round of conservation measures could cripple their industry.

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought, and it's effects on Georgia.

Several water providers get rollback on restrictions

State environmental officials have given approval to a group of 15 water providers for a rollback of certain water restrictions. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the providers all applied for looser restrictions within the past two weeks. A state official says each government had to prove it still has a good water supply with conservation measures in place. The list of providers with eased restrictions includes Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, and Walker counties.

Rome eases water restrictions

The city of Rome has decided to ease outdoor watering restrictions. City officials announced yesterday that residents can now water their lawns and gardens, wash their cars and put water in their pools three days a week between midnight and 10 a.m.

Rome officials received approval from the state Enviromental Protection Division for the loosening of restrictions. Most of north Georgia has been gripped by extreme drought conditions after years of below-average rainfall and parched conditions. The state has slowly begun to lift some bans on outdoor watering.

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.

Landscapers react to loosened restrictions

Landscapers are breathing a sigh of relief with Governor Sonny Perdue’s rollback on outdoor watering restrictions, but they still have concerns.

Wednesday’s announcement by Perdue will soon allow a limited schedule for hand-watering of plants, gardens, and landscaping in north Georgia. That is, if homeowners and landscapers complete an online water-use course.

Mary Kay Woodworth is executive director of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association. She says that while the news is generally good for landscapers and nurseries, it still isn’t a permanent solution as local governments still have ultimate control over restrictions.

"We understand the local water providers-local governments have a responsibility to make sure their water systems have enough water for public health reasons, drinking water, public safety. But, what we have seen in the past because of that local authority and ability to either reduce or eliminate those exemptions…that’s really what hurt our industry".

Woodworth says particular businesses who may not be helped as much from the relaxed restrictions are irrigation contractors and those in the sod industry.

She says the landscaping industry as a whole has absorbed a two-billion dollar hit from Georgia’s drought, with a loss of at least 50-percent of its jobs.

Woodworth did point out the Governor's announcement frees property owners to get back to buying their own plant materials from retail garden centers, and install and water it themselves.

Governor eases water restrictions

Water restrictions are easing in Georgia. Today Governor Sonny Perdue gave north Georgians permission to hand-water plants for 25 minutes three days a week. Homeowners and professional landscapers can water newly-installed landscaping up to three days a week for ten weeks, once they pass an online certification program that will start running in April. The severe drought forced the state last fall to virtually ban all outdoor watering in north Georgia and order public water providers in the region to cut their water withdrawals by ten percent. Public pools will also be allowed to open this summer.

Six Flags water rides may go dry

Officials with Six Flags over Georgia are considering the closure of three of its water rides because of the drought.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports officials with the amusement park called a meeting with Cobb County to go over water restrictions. The rides under consideration for closure are Skull Island, Splashwater Falls, and Thunder River.

Cobb County is reportedly looking to the state's Enviromental Protection Division for guidance on restrictions. There is no timetable for a decision to be made.

Six Flags is scheduled to open March 1st for weekends, and May 23rd for daily operation.

Drought sends Pike Nursery to bankruptcy

Extreme drought in the southeast has swung a punch at a well-known gardening and landscaping retailer. Pike Nursery Holding LLC says it has filed for federal bankruptcy protection. The chairman and CEO of the Norcross-based company, Scott Schnell, says the extended drought and region’s water restrictions have had a material impact on business. The retailer has secured over 11-million dollars in financing to help it operate during backruptcy protection. Pike Nurseries has 22 locations in Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.

Paulding County toughens water restrictions

Paulding County has taken another stringent step in trying to combat effects of the drought. Its commissioners late Monday afternoon wiped-out watering exemptions for landscaping and car wash businesses that do not recycle water. Homes and businesses are now under orders to cut water-use by 10-percent, or face surcharges on their bills. Also, Paulding commissioners approved fines for first offenders of watering violations.

Drought threatens upcoming golf classic

The impact of this year's drought could jeopardize one of Georgia's most popular sporting events.

The annual spring AT&T classic at the Sugarloaf Country Club in Gwinnett County, means $20 million to the state's bottom line.

And, although Sugarloaf uses rain collected in nearby retention ponds, officials hope the state will grant a watering ban exemption.

Mike Crawford is Sugarloaf's superintendent.

"If we were to lose the ability to water our greens, I think you would see a lot of golf courses and a lot of business in the state be seriously affected, and potentially in the long run could have to close their doors."

Current law prohibits Sugarloaf from using water hazards on its course to keep the bluegrass green.

Cooler temperatures and recent rains mean the course has not had to draw from its retention ponds.

Still, the course has no contingency plan. Instead, they’re relying on a wet spring and the state for drought relief.

Barrow county toughens water restrictions

Another Georgia county gets tough on water restrictions. Starting Wednesday, Barrow County will activate the Level 3 drought response--it means outdoor watering is limited to only one day a week, between the hours of midnight and 10am. Customers with odd-numbered addresses can water on Sundays--even numbered on Saturdays. The cities of Winder and Auburn in Barrow County had already enacted the tougher restrictions.

Drought worsens across Georgia

74 of 159 Georgia counties are now considered in extreme drought--that assessment from the state’s climatologist. David Stooksbury says the number of counties with that condition has doubled since an assessment made earlier this month. Rainfall deficits are growing, and stream flows are at record low levels. The extreme drought designation is a condition seen once every 50 years.

Statewide, there are already restrictions limit watering to only a few days a week. State officials are considering tougher restrictions if things worsen, perhaps watering to one weekend day--or a ban altogether.