8 replies to this topic

[GRguy]

What do you think the result of  "90 days and No Water" news coverage will be? What about the drought? Will it stop Atlanta in its tracks?

[verge]

GRguy, on Oct 15 2007, 09:11 PM, said:

What do you think the result of  "90 days and No Water" news coverage will be? What about the drought? Will it stop Atlanta in its tracks?

Yes-- If it never rains again-- then again if that happens we have bigger problems...
The best case scenario is that the (mostly do-nothing republican) state powers that be wake up and devise reasonable water supply solutions...
like a system of Regional Reservoirs --
much drier places, like Phoenix, continue to grow rapidly precisely because they know how to manage water...
In the mean time the worst fallout will be the negative image of an overgrown, planning-overt ATL slapping bans on
everything to preserve drinking water-- something I'm sorry to say we deserve...
Atlanta SHOULD be a textbook example of smart ecologically minded growth given its green lush setting--
but because of the short-sightedness of our 'leaders' we are the opposite...
Don't get me wrong I am for growth-- that is in many ways Atlanta's destiny-- but we've got to be smart about it now...

[Martinman]

^^ I totally agree and continue to be amazed at the way they do NOTHING about the serious problems this area is facing.

[Spartan]

Good points here, but I don't think Phoenix is a good example of anything that is sustainable long term. I think that in a best case scenario, Atlanta will figure out a way to make more lakes. The issue is that there are no major rivers in Atlanta, so what do you dam up?

[Martinman]

I think the point of the Pheonix "example" is that water conservation and managing the water supply they have is a fact of life there.   Here its as if water is unlimited until a drought comes along.

Edited by Martinman, 17 October 2007 - 08:45 AM.

[JerseyBoy]

When I was in Atlanta this past Wednesday, I stopped in at a restaurant in Suwanee and talked to my waiter about the current drought in Georgia. He mentioned that he lived in Gainesville on Lake Lanier and that the lake was down so much that you could see housetops and foundations covered up by dirt and sediment from when TVA and the US Army Corps of Engineers flooded the area. What I found very interesting is that local authorities recovered a slew of boat batteries from the exposed lake bed.

[Nashville_maestro]

The only way that the drought will halt development is if the metro area actually runs out of water which would be one of the biggest crisis to hit the nation (up there with katrina).

The situation is more complicated than it seems though. You can't just build more resovoirs during a drought period without either 1) canabalizing another water source (which then what's the point), 2) letting rain gradually fill it up or most likely, 3) a combination of the two. Normally it wouldn't be a problem but if rain levels are as low as they are then the water source that is used to flood the resovoir might take a really long time to get back to normal levels or not recover at all.
A solid short-term solution needs to happen fast! Is lake lanier still expected to be exausted by spring? That's not long off...

[krazeeboi]

We've known the drought has been over for some time now, but if there was ever any doubt, there shouldn't be, given what's transpired in the past 2 days throughout metro Atlanta and other parts of Georgia. I've heard that the death toll is now up to nine.

[suburban george3]

Nashville_maestro, on Jan 31 2008, 05:38 AM, said:

The only way that the drought will halt development is if the metro area actually runs out of water which would be one of the biggest crisis to hit the nation (up there with katrina).

The situation is more complicated than it seems though. You can't just build more resovoirs during a drought period without either 1) canabalizing another water source (which then what's the point), 2) letting rain gradually fill it up or most likely, 3) a combination of the two. Normally it wouldn't be a problem but if rain levels are as low as they are then the water source that is used to flood the resovoir might take a really long time to get back to normal levels or not recover at all.
A solid short-term solution needs to happen fast! Is lake lanier still expected to be exausted by spring? That's not long off...

A federal judge has ruled that if a political resolution on water withdrawels by municipalities other than Gainesville or Buford isn't reached within 3 years, that the 'tap will be shut off.'  GA is appealing.

AJC article about federal ruling concerning Lake Lanier.

This definitely could cap growth as it usually take MUCH longer than 3 year to procure a substantial source of fresh water from municipal use.