13 replies to this topic

[ATLman1]

How will the water shortage effect Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia's two fastest growing metros?

[mitchella81]

ATLman1, on Oct 25 2007, 11:24 AM, said:

How will the water shortage effect Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia's two fastest growing metros?

I believe that there is no water shortage honestly. However yes there is a drought and quanitys are dropping, but we are not in the state of emergency that Govener Perdue is  making it seem like we are. If there were then the water restrictions would be much much stricter things such as car washes would be order to shut down temporarily as well as plants that use an abundance of water would also be order to halt operations. Perdues statements are just a way for him to flex his political muscle in the 17 year old water war between GA, AL, and FL about the Chattahochee River's water. The amounts are dropping, but it's alot more than a 90 day supply for Metro Atlanta and downstream communities.

[altamaha]

ATLman1, on Oct 25 2007, 12:24 PM, said:

How will the water shortage effect Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia's two fastest growing metros?

We probably will not have to worry about that. According to "experts", 36 states will be in a water crisis within five years. What is the cause of this? Growth, urban sprawl, and naturally, "Global Warming". If that be the case, Atlanta will dry up and blow away by then. Don't you think so? As for Columbus, who knows? Maybe the aliens will land at Metro airport and take us all away from this horrible plant that WE have ruined.

[gah]

My hope is that this cloud has a silver lining -- though, like the possibility of rain, it may be a long way off.  If this crisis finally gets the attention of the General Assembly and results in a long-range water policy, then we will eventually be better off for it.

I believe that it was the mayor of Augusta who very wisely said that the state must stop pursuing a policy of bringing natural resources to where development wants to go (ATLANTA/N Ga)and start brining development to where the natural resources already are.   If that policy is instituted, the unbridled sprawl of Atlanta will slowand the second tier cities like Columbus, Macon, Augusta, Rome,Albany, etc would benefit.  

Of all of those, probably Columbus has the most to win or lose, since it (along with La Grange) is downstream and suffers from the water consumption resulting from Atlanta growth.  Hanging in the immediate balance is the whitewater project and the development of DT Columbus/PC.  Potentially affected is future investment which depends on a plentiful/reliable source of water.  Several years ago, Columbus was the US finalist for a AMD  chip plant valued in the billions with several thousand high paying jobs.  The deciding factor in choice of Columbus over other US sites was the availability of water.  The plant eventually went to Singapore, but there was (at least until now) the possibility that the plant would be built in Columbus at the time of future AMD expansion.

[mitchella81]

Well Good News for Columbus. WRBL the local CBS affiliate in Columbus did a report today with officials from the water department and said because of Columbus' location on the Chattahochee River as opposed to Atlanta the city is not in danger of any water shortages. They said rather than a level 4 drought alert Columbus should actually be on a level 2. Which would greatly reduce the restrictions. However Atlanta is not so lucky due to 4.5 million people in the metro and the lack in number of lakes and such that feed through North Georgia. As the river comes south it picks up more water from streams and other small water bodies which give Columbus a much much more abundant supply of water than Metro Atlanta.

[dougtha1]

Macon has plenty of water. Approx. 6 Billion Gallons in our resevior. Our water surplus has been a good selling point for new businesses relocating to the Macon Area.

Edited by dougtha1, 04 November 2007 - 03:43 PM.

[Spartan]

Atlanta is just going to have to cut its water consumption, thats really all there is to it. You can't force rain to happen. Though this does open up the debate for how Atlanta should meet its future water needs even without a drought. There is going to be a point when Atlanta will just need more water, period. Even without drought conditions.

[aboutmetro]

Hopefully, Georgians will use this as an opportunity to manage growth.  Governor Purdue's response to a question regarding his late response to the drought is indicative of many politicos attitude toward environmental science - "I didn't want to cry wolf."  Despite scientists, environmentalists and planners issuing warnings about the potential for dire consequences from ignoring growth management issues, most (primarily suburban) Georgia counties have opted to not plan adequately for growth.  Harris County, north of Columbus along the Chattahoochee, for example, implemented a 2-acre minimum lot size for new homes.  The commissioners did this as a stated stop-gap measure to slow growth to allow time to put in a growth managment plan. Instead, the leadership used the measure to force higher land and home values to exclude lower income and homebuyers.

The county has also re-buffed efforts of developers to install package wastewater management facilities which provide for water re-use for things like irrigation. Instead, the county has stagnated on policies that prevent natural growth economics to prevail. Therefore, the county, though geographically a suburban area, grows like a rural or exurban county.  Thus the county has struggled to develop a commercial tax base. The economics of which will eventually lead the county to financially implode as its population ages.  But back to the drought.

In the last 10 years the county has added almost 3,300 septic-tank households that use 7-times as much water as a home on an integrated sewerage system. Add to that the additional water used to irrigate XXL yards, the county residents place an excessive burden on the environment's water resources.  This same scenario is repeated in other Georgia (and Alabama, for that matter) counties like Henry, Paulding and others.

If Georgia doesn't get its act together, and acknowledge that water, air and growth issues are borderless. There's plenty of blame to go around for Georgia's poor growth managment, so the powers that be might just agree to move on to solutions... we can only hope.

That's my soap box for the day.

[aboutmetro]

mitchella81, on Nov 2 2007, 05:09 PM, said:

Well Good News for Columbus. WRBL the local CBS affiliate in Columbus did a report today with officials from the water department and said because of Columbus' location on the Chattahochee River as opposed to Atlanta the city is not in danger of any water shortages. They said rather than a level 4 drought alert Columbus should actually be on a level 2. Which would greatly reduce the restrictions. However Atlanta is not so lucky due to 4.5 million people in the metro and the lack in number of lakes and such that feed through North Georgia. As the river comes south it picks up more water from streams and other small water bodies which give Columbus a much much more abundant supply of water than Metro Atlanta.

Since sewer fees are tied to water usage - incoming water is measured, outgoing sewage is not - the Water Works has found it's budgeted debt service for recent CSO projects lacking.  Unfortunately, the re-characterization of the drought severity has more to do with dollars than rain.

[gah]

I think that the Columbus Water Works is extending service to the Hwy 316/Mulberry Grove area and that proposed The Grove development will tie into it.  Also believe that the CWW is extending service to Talbot County.  Am not sure about water supply for the new business park in the northern part of Harris -- maybe tap into West Pt or LaGrange systems?  At any rate, the surrounding counties are being gradually reoriented towards a regional model.  There is currently ongoing land use coordination and the Valley Partnership includes West Point, Manchester and PC.  l

I understood that there was a distinction between ground water (ie, wells) and surface water (ie, rivers/reservoirs).  The drought affected ground water insofar as the water table is concerned -- but that, like oil, the water could still be tapped with deeper (more expensive) wells.  Unlike surface water -- which is in finiite supply.  If so, then water may be more accessible (tho at a higher cost) in the rural areas like Harris than the urban areas like Columbus.

[aboutmetro]

Two towns in GA are now using a market approach to water rates.  Water rates often are scaled so that the more water is used, the less it costs... not exactly a structure to discourage waste.  Scaling rates so that they increase with higher usage would help reduce unnecessary usage.  CWW should use a similar approach.

[aboutmetro]

jaxboro, on Jan 29 2008, 11:13 AM, said:

I'm a meteorologist and am definetly concerned with Atlanta Metro's water issues. Last year served as a wkae up call, you must control you development(sprawl), make mandatory, permanent water restrictions on lawn watering, which was the biggest cause of water loss, and other wasteful usage. Lastly, the supply, come on, 2 resevoirs for 5 million people, it is not logically possible, and from research, its actually surprising this didn't happen sooner. Below average rainfall brought this drought, and the drought brought these problems, long track data has seen cycles like this, it just hit harder due to population. This is somewhat of a blessing, it shows the need for better planning, controlling sprawl, and wasteful use cutting. If this winter and spring does not prove wet, you have not seen anything yet. From research that many have done, Atlanta will have a very desperate situation, to the point where they will have to purchase from sources that are low themselves, only snowballing the problem. It could get to the point of rationing, which does not seem to far off if the current scenario plays out. All the Metro counties have got to cooperate with each other in order to maintain a steady, consistent supply of water for the population to have. I encourage all to invest in low-flow appliances, toilets, showers, etc. Smart, small steps like these, can save much more, and lawns in summer really only need to be watered 2 times per week. If you have irrigation, do this, and water in hours between sunset and sunrise, to reduce evaporation. Also, make sure the sprinkler heads and such are actually watering plants and grass, not sidewalks, driveways, and streets, as is way too common.

I wonder how much these non-agricultural lakes and ponds that developers and others have built like crazy over the last 20 years have affected the amount of water making it into the basins.  There's an amount of evaporation and absorbtion that has to take place.  Absorbtion makes into ground water in 10-20 years, I understand, but the evaporated water probably ends up as rain 1,000 miles from here.

[Spartan]

Interesting thought. I think that the total evaporation from those ponds is probably pretty miniscule.

[aboutmetro]

Spartan, on Feb 10 2008, 09:43 PM, said:

Interesting thought. I think that the total evaporation from those ponds is probably pretty miniscule.

After doing some checking, the rate can be from 30 to 103 inches per year depending on environmental conditions. A cumulative effect over an entire basin could add up.