Dire Drought Predictions At Alpharetta Forum

By Jonathan Copsey / Beaconcast.com

Radio station WGKA hosted a forum on the state of the drought last Wednesday at Alpharetta city hall. A panel of experts from government, private institutions and companies and the Weather Channel assembled to discuss every aspect of the drought that may affect Georgia. For an event touching on such a timely topic, it was sparsely attended. The audience was composed of slightly more people than there were on the panel.

If anyone was looking for good news from the discussion, they were sadly disappointed. According to the panel, North Georgia is still in a drought and will remain so for some time.
Charles Macmillon, of the AEC engineering and land planning firm was first to speak, addressing how building techniques have begun to change due to the water restrictions and the drought. Primarily, he said, building is becoming much more environmentally aware, with energy and water saving techniques, from rain barrels to “green roofs,” gaining in popularity throughout the area.

Fulton County commissioner Lynn Riley stressed the fact that Georgia is still in a severe drought, despite the rain in recent months. Water restrictions are not expected to be relaxed in the foreseeable future. She also outlined how the county is taking steps toward saving more water by building more reclamation facilities – notably at Johns Creek – to reuse gray water for irrigation.

One of the more respected voices on the panel was the Weather Channel’s Greg Forbes. His assessment of our current state was of little comfort.“We’re a little better off now than we were then (December), but we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. Georgia is currently in the “wet season,” which is the reason for all of the rain in the past few months (which was still below normal levels). Once summer arrives, the drought will again be in full swing.“[This time last year] 1 percent of North Georgia was in drought,” he said. “This year 11 percent is. We’re not in a position where we can waste water.”

State Representative Harry Geisinger, who is on the House natural resources and environmental committee, also weighed in on the topic. He explained the various measures taken by the legislature to combat the water shortage, such as building reservoirs and giving the environmental protection department clear directions on water policies.

Perhaps the most dire note of the evening came when Geisinger talked about Atlanta’s future: “Our demand for water in the next 30 years will double along with the population. We’ve seen what’s happened in this last drought. If we double our population and we don’t have any additional water – reservoirs or even ground wells – it won’t give us enough water that we need.”

To that end, Geisinger pressed the issue of the Tennessee River basin and the flap over the traditional state borders. Evidently, squatter’s rights have no bearing as far as he is concerned.
Rick Gilma of Cotton Creek Carwash presented a plan to organize the car wash industry by creating a uniform set of rules and a voluntary certification process car washes can go through to prove that they are environmentally responsible.

His speech, and that of Mary Kay Woodworth of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association (MALTA), echoed each other’s in regard to uniformity in the state laws concerning water usage. The patchwork of restrictions, they said, make work nearly impossible for businesses that operate in several counties or municipalities.

“It has been very difficult,” said Woodworth. “There are 61 different water providers in the Atlanta area and each can have a different set of rules. That is where the problem is. Educating our professionals is one thing but keeping them informed so they can operate their business is very difficult.”

The landscaping industry lost $3 billion and 35,000 jobs statewide last year and, if the predictions of the panel are correct, it can expect little relief this year.

Chris Browning of Fulton County Public Works had a more upbeat message to give, saying that his department has met every challenge presented to it from the state.The 10 percent mandated reductions in water usage were met last year and the department is taking an aggressive policy toward meeting this year’s reductions.

“We’re going to have to be very creative to meet these mandates,” he said before adding a warning: “[Our customers] understand what’s going on, but the sense of urgency and cooperation is going away because of the rain. Folks need to understand we’re still in a drought and will be there for quite some time.”