What's New

Georgia is developing rapidly and this development along with inefficient water use and a record setting drought mean serious water shortages that have a seious impact on our environment, our communities, and our economy. Georgia needs to get serious about long term water planning. Our current drought is not the first drought the state has experienced, nor will it be the last and our expanding population means that demand for water will only continue to rise.

At the start of 2008, there was a lot of speculation about the way our state Legislature would address the water supply crisis. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that they would sidestep the question. In the first weeks of the session both the House and Senate moved quickly to pass a state water plan. The plan will implement long overdue assessments of our rivers’ capacity, but will do little to promote efficiency or enforce smart management as our population continues to grow.

Additional pieces of legislation, like a tax holiday for water efficient products, are steps in the right direction, but future action will be needed to truly make an impact.

Scientists have assured us that this will not be Georgia’s last drought and census experts predict that Georgia’s population will only continue to grow, so we’ll continue to work toward these goals in 2008 and beyond

How You Can Help

Stop back soon to learn about ways that you can work towards more efficient water use and smarter water management.

Background

In 2007 Georgia missed the dubious honor of driest year on record by hundredths of an inch. We saw 31.85 inches of rain last year (the driest year on record is 1954 which saw 31.80 in.), in a average rain year Atlanta will see 50.2 in. of rain.

In 2008 meteorologists predict that our current drought is likely to continue in North Georgia and expand south in to the rest of the state.

At the same time Georgia is experiencing record growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Georgia's population has risen 14.4 percent to 9.4 million from 2000 to 2006, far outpacing 6.4 percent population growth of the United States overall.

This growth means we are asking more from our waterways than ever before and the combination of drought and growth have hit Georgia's rivers, wildlife, plants, population and economy hard. It is clear that Georgia needs to make some serious changes to the way we use and think about water.

Environment Georgia, often with the help of the Georgia Water Coalition, bases our work on two basic principles: 

First, we must practice smart growth. Everyday in Atlanta, we cover 55 acres of land with hard surfaces, pipe streams, and fill in flood plains. This has to stop and, as much as possible, natural water systems should be preserved and restored.

Second, we must use water as efficiently as possible. New development must use the latest water- and energy-efficiency technologies available, and old development should be brought up to modern standards. We can’t ignore the huge impact that energy production has on our water supply any longer.