Georgia Watering Ban Declared as Drought Worsens
The ramifications of the two year Georgia drought expanded yesterday, as the Georgia Environmental Protection Division decided to declare a level 4 drought response for the northern third of the state, while leaving the level 2 watering ban in place for the rest of the state. This map shows the counties affected by the two bans:
Level 4 watering restrictions mean that virtually all outdoor watering is verboten, while the level 2 restrictions limit watering to three days a week on an odd-even basis. The state took the measure primarily because the extent of the drought has reduced the water levels of north Georgia’s to primary water sources, lakes Allatoona and Lanier to the point where there is a real risk of fouling the water supply if the drought continues.
During a year of average rainfall, water levels in Georgia’s large reservoirs such as Lanier and Allatoona tend to drop in late summer and then recover as the winter rains arrive,” said State Climatologist Stooksbury. “But the forecast calls for a dry, mild winter and that could result in serious water supply problems by next spring.
This winter isn’t expected to bring too much relief due to an increase in La Nina conditions, which typically bring warmer than normal temperatures and less than normal precipitation to the southeast. The area specified for the level 4 drought response closely echoes the areas classified as being in exceptional drought conditions in the most recent drought monitor. While rainfall is mitigating the drought in the southern part of the state, a dry August and September in the northern part of Georgia has brought the drought to what EPD director Carol Crouch has called “historic proportions.” September rainfall has averaged around an inch in the northern part of the state, or about 25% of normal.
It doesn’t look like we’re going to get any relief soon. A high pressure system over the southeast is likely to keep us dry for the first two weeks of October, and although the tropics are busy, it appears unlikely that Karen and Melissa will maintain enough strength to reach the southeast coast.
Even if a tropical system were to come and somehow bring a foot of rain to north Georgia, I don’t think that we’re going to see an end to the watering ban until spring, when the La Nina conditions should be receding, and we’ll know how much winter rains filled up the lakes. It took over a year for conditions to get this dry, and it will take a while to get back to normal.
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October 1st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
The level 4 watering ban, does that also mean that subdivision entances should not be watering? I have seen several subdivisions in my area that are watering the entrance of the subdivision. Lots of water just running down the street into a storm drain. If they are not suppose to be doing this who would I contact about this matter.
October 1st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Tara, with the exception of a few specialized cases, such as golf course greens or newly planted landscaping by a professional, people should not be watering at all. You don’t say where you’re located, but if you’re in Gwinnett, you can use this link to report a watering violation.
October 12th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I live in a condominium in the City of Decatur. There is a recirculating fountain in our courtyard. Does this fountain need to be turned off? Also, can we continue to maintain our pool as usual. Adding in water as needed? Could you please site the exact rules that apply.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Nan, I think the short answer to your questions is no and no. Ornamental fountains and the filling of swimming pools are prohibited starting with level three drought conditions, and since we are now in level 4, the level 3 rules apply.
The level three watering restrictions state:
As far as the fountain goes, that appears to be covered under paragraph 7. If Centennial Olympic Park had to turn off their fountain, I suppose your apartment complex will have to as well.
Swimming Pools are covered under section 3.
Of course, part of the problem with these rules is that they are subject to some interpretation. You can always check with your water provider to get their interpretation of the rules, and keep in mind that local water providers can impose stricter rules, although they can’t lessen the statewide rules. You can view the complete statewide rules here.
I hope this answers your question.
October 18th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
If this continues, will we have to evacuate the state?
October 18th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
If you mean a forced evacuation like you would see if there were a hurricane bearing down, no I don’t think we’ll see that. However, I’ve heard comments recently to the effect that the current drought situation will have the effect of a hurricane in the economic damage it is likely to cost Georgia.
I think that it’s likely that the state EPD will issue some much stricter regulations next week that will begin to impact industries in the state. And that could cause some people to consider leaving and moving elsewhere. For example, if a decision was made to forbid all commercial car washes, they would go out of business, at least until the end of the drought. Every car wash employee would be laid off, and would have to find other work. The chances are at least some will leave, while others may be able to find other jobs.
What would happen if water use was restricted to only for preserving human health and safety? Presumably any service or industry that relied on the use of water would be shut down. Unemployment would greatly increase. People that might want to leave and work elsewhere wouldn’t be able to sell their homes, because there would be no demand for housing. Others would relocate temporarily to relatives or friends homes in other cities. In short, you could have a real mess.
However, there are many people who have jobs that don’t rely on the water supply, beyond what the need at home. And, I don’t see metro Atlanta becoming a ghost town, if only because there is too much valuable property here to put it to risk for vandals.
And, sometime, the drought is going to end, and allow things to get back to ‘normal’, without the need to rebuild property, as you would have to do after a hurricane or major earthquake.
I’m certainly not an expert on this, and I’m sure that there are some bright people in Atlanta working on what might happen, and how the state would deal with it. At least I hope they are.
October 19th, 2007 at 4:34 am
I think the question is, what will happen if the water literally runs out. It would
be impossible to truck in enough water for five million people. In Katrina, the
“authorities” waited too long, made wrong assumptions, and generally mis-managed
the crisis, I see a similar situation here. It’s a simple question and I’ve yet to
hear an answer, what happens if the water runs out? I’m no expert, but common sense would seem to indicate two possibilities if the water
runs out, either people are evacuated to areas that have adequate water,
or they stay in an area without adequate drinking water. Given that most of
the surrounding states are suffering droughts of varying severity, evacuations
would probably have to be strictly managed, i.e. some sort of marshall law - something I doudt could be well managed, given the size of the area affected - an area vastly larger than that affected by Katrina, with many times the population. At some point, before panic sets in, as it probably will if this continues, look for the govt., and press to start suggesting that those with the means, should “consider” relocating until the crisis passes - they’ll be some sort of transitional period from voluntary exiting to forced mass evacuation. On the other hand, it just might
rain, a lot.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I agree with CT. This is becomming very serious and I have yet to read on the Governor’s website, AJC.com, or anywhere else where there is serious discussion about what will be done in the event the water literally runs out.
I am amzaed that as of this writing, we have approximately 75 days of easily accessible drinking water available from Lake Lanier - yet, I have not yet read a story or reviewed an action plan for what I believe may be the inevitable.
When I inquired about this through my employers Business Continuity Department, it was met with snickers. No one took me seriously. I hope the day will not come but I do not anticipate enough rain will fall by February 3 to alleviate this situation. N.C. here we come!