I participated in a bike ride from Athens to Jacksonville this weekend, which went extremely well (thank you Tim and Kimberly!). As I rode very slowly from North Georgia down across the Florida line and into the Sunshine State, I was able to closely observe many bodies of water along the way. It was extremely clear to see the disparity in water levels between here and further south. The bodies of water down in South Georgia and Florida were at normal if not better than normal levels and there was not much sign of drought. There was also a fair amount of rainfall on the way down and I had the joy of riding through some of it. The rain just seems to be missing us up here.
As I am following my story and gathering more information, I am becoming more and more concerned about the severity of the situation. I have known for quite some time now that things have been getting serious, but seeing each week go by with hardly any rain is starting to make the situation a reality for me, and witnessing the comparison of the drought situation here with other places in the South certainly made it more real.
What other steps can we take? Water use has been decreased by at least 20%, but will that be enough? Will we have to see water rationing in our homes?
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
UOBWA Meeting
My group and I went to an Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority meeting last week. It was pretty intense and they discussed quite a few things.
The meeting was held at Bear Creek Reservoir. I don't know how familiar any of you are with the reservoir (except Amber) but it's huge. For whatever reason, I had envisioned a pond in my mind, and it's a rather massive body of water. The reservoir is 505 acres and holds 5 billions gallons of water. There is a treatment plant on site that treats water for Jackson, Barrow and Oconee counties. Clarke County water is pumped directly to Clarke and treated here.
One of the most astonishing things we experienced was touring the facility. The sight of the reservoir made me realize how bad the drought is. The reservoir was down 14 feet and there are islands sticking out here and there that have never been visible before. One of my friends went out of town this weekend and said that she saw places on the river that were almost completely dry.
Water conservation is now more important than ever. We have had a little rain in the past few days. A result of prayer? Who knows, but it couldn't hurt.
The meeting was held at Bear Creek Reservoir. I don't know how familiar any of you are with the reservoir (except Amber) but it's huge. For whatever reason, I had envisioned a pond in my mind, and it's a rather massive body of water. The reservoir is 505 acres and holds 5 billions gallons of water. There is a treatment plant on site that treats water for Jackson, Barrow and Oconee counties. Clarke County water is pumped directly to Clarke and treated here.
One of the most astonishing things we experienced was touring the facility. The sight of the reservoir made me realize how bad the drought is. The reservoir was down 14 feet and there are islands sticking out here and there that have never been visible before. One of my friends went out of town this weekend and said that she saw places on the river that were almost completely dry.
Water conservation is now more important than ever. We have had a little rain in the past few days. A result of prayer? Who knows, but it couldn't hurt.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Related Video
Waites, one of the photojournalists in my group, found this video today. I thought that you might be interested in seeing it.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2007/10/15/philips.ga.drought.mussels.wsb
http://www.cnn.com/video/#
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Yellow? Let it mellow. Brown? Flush it down.
So, this week's title might be a little graphic for some of you, but I thought it rather appropriate considering all the water conservation tips around everywhere. That little saying makes conserving water by flushing your toilet less a bit more memorable, don't you think?
We have already undergone many water restrictions, but there are more being considered. This AJC article states that most water bans or restrictions have really never worked to limit water use in the home. In fact, domestic water use is the last thing to go during a drought period. Much to my surprise, the types of water restrictions that we are considering haven't even been considered in places in the country where it rains much less than it rains here.
Arid areas of the U.S. have learned how to conserve water and create reservoirs for particularly dry times. We don't usually have rainfall problems here, so this part of the country hasn't considered these types of things. Normally, that would be alright, but since we don't have these precautions in place, serious drought times are much more likely to elevate and become more of a problem more quickly.
Another important issue that had not even occurred to me before is how much our drought is also affecting other areas that rely on our lakes and reservoirs to provide them with water as well. Alabama and Florida are concerned about our drought situation, too. We need to conserve our water by not sending as much downstream to Florida, but sending less water down there is detrimental to Florida's water. I'm from the panhandle area, so this really matters to me. I have family that live down there still, and I have been to Apalachicola many times (sited in the previously linked article). I never thought during all my time down there that a drought situation up here in Georgia would have a negative affect on Florida's water quality, endangered species and shellfish.
We need to remember that we are not only fending for our own water supply but protecting a water supply that is counted on by citizens in other states.
We have already undergone many water restrictions, but there are more being considered. This AJC article states that most water bans or restrictions have really never worked to limit water use in the home. In fact, domestic water use is the last thing to go during a drought period. Much to my surprise, the types of water restrictions that we are considering haven't even been considered in places in the country where it rains much less than it rains here.
Arid areas of the U.S. have learned how to conserve water and create reservoirs for particularly dry times. We don't usually have rainfall problems here, so this part of the country hasn't considered these types of things. Normally, that would be alright, but since we don't have these precautions in place, serious drought times are much more likely to elevate and become more of a problem more quickly.
Another important issue that had not even occurred to me before is how much our drought is also affecting other areas that rely on our lakes and reservoirs to provide them with water as well. Alabama and Florida are concerned about our drought situation, too. We need to conserve our water by not sending as much downstream to Florida, but sending less water down there is detrimental to Florida's water. I'm from the panhandle area, so this really matters to me. I have family that live down there still, and I have been to Apalachicola many times (sited in the previously linked article). I never thought during all my time down there that a drought situation up here in Georgia would have a negative affect on Florida's water quality, endangered species and shellfish.
We need to remember that we are not only fending for our own water supply but protecting a water supply that is counted on by citizens in other states.
Monday, October 8, 2007
This Is Getting Serious . . .
I have to admit that as I've written about the water shortage/drought situation, I haven't really considered what will happen if the drought continues and there is no relief. I do try to conserve when I can, and thoughts of the drought plague me every time I use water, but I still haven't drastically changed my water use habits. For some people, I don't think that anything will change until they don't have water anymore.
There is now a link to water conservation tips on the UGA homepage. The page was updated a few days ago, but I just saw that the link was placed on the homepage today. I have also heard a few of my friends saying that they have heard that if the drought continues, school will be closed for a week. Have any of you heard this? The student population makes up about a third of Athens-Clarke County's residents, so if we cut down on our water usage on campus by not being there, it might have a large impact on the local water levels. I haven't been able to find any concrete evidence that would indicate that this is true, and I'm wondering where my friends heard this, but it's certainly worth considering. Thoughts?
I have also seen a good bit of information on using grey water in my recent searches for updates. I know that we were talking about using grey water systems for irrigating outside, but apparently that is prohibited by the EPA. Using grey water to irrigate outside violates plumbing and health codes. It can be used, however, for things like filling toilets.
Websites including Georgia DNR, ACC public utilities, and EPD all have a large collection of water saving tips. As I mentioned earlier, even the UGA website now has a link with water conservation tips. Obviously, we can all do things to conserve water, but at this point, no matter how much water we conserve, we are still enduring a level 4 drought. What will happen if this continues?
Working on answers . . . .
There is now a link to water conservation tips on the UGA homepage. The page was updated a few days ago, but I just saw that the link was placed on the homepage today. I have also heard a few of my friends saying that they have heard that if the drought continues, school will be closed for a week. Have any of you heard this? The student population makes up about a third of Athens-Clarke County's residents, so if we cut down on our water usage on campus by not being there, it might have a large impact on the local water levels. I haven't been able to find any concrete evidence that would indicate that this is true, and I'm wondering where my friends heard this, but it's certainly worth considering. Thoughts?
I have also seen a good bit of information on using grey water in my recent searches for updates. I know that we were talking about using grey water systems for irrigating outside, but apparently that is prohibited by the EPA. Using grey water to irrigate outside violates plumbing and health codes. It can be used, however, for things like filling toilets.
Websites including Georgia DNR, ACC public utilities, and EPD all have a large collection of water saving tips. As I mentioned earlier, even the UGA website now has a link with water conservation tips. Obviously, we can all do things to conserve water, but at this point, no matter how much water we conserve, we are still enduring a level 4 drought. What will happen if this continues?
Working on answers . . . .
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