Environment Georgia
urges state leaders to include commonsense and cost-effective solutions like
conservation in the details of the “Reservoir Development and Drought Relief
Act,” as well as safeguards for downstream communities. Reservoirs are
expensive projects; an average reservoir will generally cost tax payers several
hundred million, and can have negative impacts on humans and other types of
species downstream.
Common sense tells us
that capturing and holding rainwater that would normally drain into rivers and
move downstream will have ramifications.
Before a reservoir is even permitted everyone in a community must
implement serious enforceable water conservation measures. A big picture
analysis of the impacts of the reservoir must be taken into account and affected
downstream parties should have a say in any final construction.
