No end to drought, no solutions in sight
A burst of rain this winter saved 2007 from being the driest year on record and brought some relief in 2008. However, for much of North Georgia the news is still grim—climatologists predict the summer months will not bring relief from our current drought.
Many state leaders, including Gov. Sonny Perdue, placed blame for the drought wholly on low rainfall, ignoring the role that poorly planned development and wasteful water use played in exacerbating the last summer’s water scarcity.
But a growing number of Georgians understand that there is more to the story. In the past two decades our state’s population has increased by 50 percent, and new development has gone ahead without an eye toward what it would mean for our water supply. Sprawling development has meant more filled-in wetlands and paved-over streams, as well as higher demand on the water supply. In Atlanta, which relies on the smallest urban water supply watershed in the nation, the rising population has a huge impact.
Environment Georgia has two basic principles that guide our work to protect our rivers and our drinking water in the Legislature.
First, we must practice smart growth. Every day 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 need to 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.
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, such as 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.
