Water officials from Northwest Georgia and the state Environmental Protection Division plan to meet at The Forum on Feb. 25 to talk about the drought.
Gov. Sonny Perdue’s announcement Wednesday that he is easing water-use restrictions is likely to take center stage, said Floyd County Commission Chairman Jerry Jennings, who heads the 15-county Northwest Georgia Regional Water Resources Partnership.
“I expect there will be questions about the dual message that we must continue to reduce consumption but, by the way, you can water your plants and fill your swimming pools,” Jennings said.
It is up to the local utilities to decide if they will adopt the allowed exemptions, but, if they do, they will still be required to meet the state-mandated 10-percent reduction in the amount of water they are allowed to withdraw.
“What the governor has done is put the burden on the systems,” said Leigh Ross, director of the Rome Water and Sewer Department.
Ross said the city will probably adopt the exemptions, while Floyd County Utilities Director Steve Hulsey said he would wait until after the EPD meeting to decide.
“It depends on what leniency they’re giving us,” Hulsey said. “We’re trying to find out what they want us to do, what direction they want us to take.”
Neither Rome nor Floyd met its reduction target goal for January. Floyd County passed in November, the first month for the new limits, but Rome failed. In December, the city passed, and the county failed.
The state has yet to set penalties for providers that don’t meet the target, which was based on 2006-2007 winter usage. Beginning April 1, the required savings will be based on the average monthly use between April and September 2007 — which includes the peak months of May and August.
Ross said the increased limit “will give a little more leeway,” but still creates an unnecessary burden in the water-rich region.
The mandated reductions came at a time of historically low levels in the reservoirs that serve metro Atlanta.
“We’re erroneously lumped into that group because they based the 61-county restrictions on rainfall,” Ross said. “Yes, we’ve had a drought in rainfall, but on the other hand, we have plenty of water.”
Northwest Georgia water officials are asking to be released from the mandate, arguing that water usage in the Coosa and Tennessee basins has no effect on the Chattahoochee basin that supplies the metro area.
EPD Director Carol Crouch and State Climatologist David Stooksbury are among the officials scheduled to attend the Feb. 25 conference. The meeting is set for 1 p.m. at The Forum.
Click here for a previous story about regional water restriction concerns.
Click here for our comprehensive drought information page.
