It was just a matter of time. The lack of rain this year has been bad and combine it with our record hot August and it created a situation that could no longer be denied. We’re in the middle of a serious drought and water restrictions needed to be increased.

Effective immediately, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority is requesting its customers to enforce the Level 4 Drought Response, which is essentially a total ban of outdoor water use. This is a water supply issue, as Lake Allatoona, one of our two water sources, has dropped to dangerously low levels for this time of year.

If the drought persists into a multi-year condition, it is unlikely that Lake Allatoona will re-fill during the winter and spring. Lake Lanier, which supplements flow in the Chattahoochee River, our other water source, is also being depleted by low inflows and required releases to meet downstream flow requirements.

• Current water supply conditions are as follows:
• Lakes Allatoona and Lanier are near record lows for this time of year.
• Lake Allatoona currently at El. 828.0, almost 9 feet below average for this time of year.
• Lake Allatoona is expected to be at El. 823.0 by mid-October, two months ahead of normal winter drawdown schedule. May drop below winter pool.
• Lake Lanier currently at El. 1059.9, over 6 feet below average for this time of year.
• Lake Lanier is expected to be at El. 1054 by mid-October, 11 feet below average for that time frame.
• Rainfall deficit is 16 inches below average year to date.
• 3-month outlook: normal to above normal temperatures; below normal precipitation.
• Potential for drought to become multi-year and lakes not refill to “full pool” during winter and spring.

There are few exemptions to this ban: for example, commercial outdoor uses of water, irrigation of vegetable gardens, and a 30-day exemption on commercially-installed landscapes. All recently-installed landscapes, even if owner-installed, will be granted a 30-day exemption. But the restriction does mean no lawn watering, no pool filling and no personal car washing.

The only thing we have to thank about this is that the water ban was not implemented during the heat of August which would have been disastrous to our trees. With the heat behind and most pools shutting down, the water ban should be a little easier for folks to follow. Now it’s just a matter of people heading to the local car wash instead of watering their driveway.

More information about the outdoor water use schedule can be found on the EPD website at www.gaepd.org. To learn more about water conservation, please go to the EPD Water Conservation website at www.conservewatergeorgia.net. Detailed information on the drought can be found at www.georgiadrought.org

This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Government Services. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.