Georgia due for drought?
Friday, August 13, 2010 at 3:17PM 
Last year we told you about the United States Global Change Research Program's latest findings for the Southeast:
Increasing temperatures and longer periods between rainfall events [code for droughts] coupled with increased demand for water will result in decreased water availability. The 2007 water shortage in the Atlanta area created serious conflicts between Georgia, Alabama, Florida, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Such competition for limited water supplies is expected to continue.
That report seemed almost laughable to some, coming during the monsoon conditions of 2009. Now this federally-mandated research is starting to look pretty reliable. State climatologist David Stooksbury's latest report says drought conditions have returned to north central, west central and southwest Georgia. The rest of the state is classified as abnormally dry. “Temperatures across the state have been above normal this summer, increasing water loss from the soils by evaporation and plant water use,” he said. With temperatures remaining in the 90s and low 100s with little or no rain, Stooksbury said soils statewide will continue to dry. This will lead to increased plant stress, and soil moisture and stream flows will continue to decline.
Exacerbating the conditions for drought next year is the predicted return of the La Niña pattern this winter. This ocean-atmosphere system is associated with dry, warm winters across much of the Southeast, Stooksbury said.
Meanwhile, a federal ruling drastically reducing Georgia's rights to water from Lake Lanier looms less than two years away. Still, the presiding Judge had to issue reprimands to all the stakeholders mentioned above for being too placid on negotiating a solution.
Sounds like conditions are right for a perfect storm. A perfect dust storm, that is...
Reader Comments (4)
It is so idiotic that the governor of Georgia took it for granted that Lake Lanier is for Georgia only. Secondly even after the controversy arose, he had arrogance of not following up with the army corp of engineers to find a suitable solution. All they have to do is to find a way to dredge the lake and make it deeper, wider to hold more water during rainy seasons. Now we are stuck with a shallow lake and an order from the judge to release all the necessary water to go to Alabama and Florida.Sunny lined his pockets to the brim and is ready to jump off the wagon to pursue the life he wants with the ill gotten wealth.And now we are getting ready to "deal" with another guy who has questionable dealings of similar nature in the past!
I am an Australian living in California that is very accustomed to living with drought. We have had severe drought in Australia for over 10 years now. This drought has covered the whole continent meaning that we were not able to just buy water from neighboring states (as happens here in the US) to get us out of trouble. The drought lead to drastic measures being put in place to stop people wasting water (e.g. streets were actually patrolled by water police who gave on the spot fines for excessive water use or for watering your gardens on the non specified days). It is logical to think that similar measures will be investigated here as well as the dry conditions get worse.
Not only will the price of water continue to rise but it will make less and less sense to use good clean city drinking water to water our gardens and flush our toilets. It is very important to not only start being more careful with our water usage (using low flush toilets, turning off the tap while we brush our teeth, limiting showers to 3 minutes max, etc) but also making use of the free resource that falls from our skies - rainwater. While a lack of rainwater is one of the reasons for the drought, as we learnt in Australia, every measure that you can take to take the pressure off city water supplies is worth while doing. And it doesn't need to rain a lot to allow you to fill your rainwater tanks (one inch of rain on a 1,000 sq ft roof will allow you to capture over 600 gallons of water).
Now is the time to act (before the government steps in and tells you what we have to do). There are now great rainwater harvesting solutions available for both urban and rural dwellers.
Toilets account for approx. 30% of water used indoors. By installing a Dual Flush toilet you can save approx. 40% of water being flushed down the toilet, compared to a standard, modern 1.6 gpf (gallons per flush) model. If your toilet has been installed prior to 1994, you are using 3.5 gallons or more each single flush. The water savings you can achieve by upgrading to a Dual Flush toilet are substantial. By reducing your water usage, you are also reducing the cost of your water bill!!
If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that really works and is affordable, I highly recommend installing a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma, an Australian cased toilet and sink manufacturer, invented the dual flush washdown flush toilet 25 years ago.They offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. On an average of 5 uses a day (4 liquid/ 1 solid) a Caroma Dual Flush toilet uses an average of 0.96 gallons per flush. The new Sydney Smart uses only 1.28 and 0.8 gpf, that is an average of 0.89 gallons per flush. This is the lowest water consumption of any toilet available in the US. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the 1980’s and has since perfected the technology. With a full 3.5″ trap way, these toilets virtually never clog. All 47 floor mounted models are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s (High Efficiency toilets) http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm and qualify for the various toilet rebate programs available in the US. Please visit my blog http://pottygirl.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/what-you-should-know-about-toilets/
to learn more or visit http://www.ecotransitions.com/howto.asp to see how we flush potatoes with 0.8 gallons of water, meant for liquids only. Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli, ecoTransitions Inc.
Amen brother Simon! The interesting fact is that in 2007, one of GA's most severe drought years on record, we received approximately 30 inches of rain... hardly a drought by Australian, South African, or Arizonan standards. These places typically get 9-11 inches of annual rainfall, and also happen to be destinations where rainwater harvesting and graywater recycling systems have become standard on new homes and businesses. In a 30" rainfall year the typical GA rooftop will supply 100% of the non-potable demand for a home. Graywater recycling systems will provide 100% of water for toilet flushing and still have water leftover for irrigation. The point is that even in years of severe drought we can collect plenty of water, use our water wisely, and help solve our impending water crisis.