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Thirsty Cities: Water management in a changing environment

Posted by: Maven on January 1, 2010 at 8:43 am

From Earth Magazine:

“On a clear day in November 2007, the governor of Georgia held an unusual public vigil. Before the doors of his state capitol, Gov. Sonny Perdue bowed his head, took his wife’s hand and prayed for rain.

Some called it a stunt. Others admired the gesture. Above all, one thing was clear: Northern Georgia was facing its worst drought in 100 years, and there was no easy fix. It would take unprecedented statewide efforts to save Georgia from ruin.

With an average of 125 centimeters of rain a year, Georgia seems an unlikely place for a drought. Even in 2006 when the drought began, nearly 105 centimeters fell on the state. But Georgia’s water supply relies heavily on its system of reservoirs, which is entirely dependent on rain, and the state’s population growth — 18 percent between 2000 and 2008 (twice the national average) — only made matters worse. By late 2007, the city of Athens was down to six weeks of water. And Lake Lanier, the main reservoir for the Atlanta area, had four months before running dry.

Georgia’s situation is not unique. In recent years, severe droughts have hit most of the continental United States, starting with the Great Plains and Gulf Coast in 2006, then shifting to the West and Southeast in 2007 and 2008. Further exacerbating the problem is the development associated with a growing population. Every new road and driveway creates another hard surface funneling rain into storm sewers, leaving less water to seep into the soil, flow into rivers or replenish aquifers.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a wet area or a dry area,” says Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a research organization in Oakland, Calif., that studies water and global sustainability. “If you’re not careful about water management, eventually you’re going to run into limits.”

Fortunately, cities across the United States are investigating ways to improve their water management practices — and some of these tactics may serve as models for the rest of the country. … “

Find out what Georgia, Denver and Tucson have doing to meet their water challenges in this article from Earth Magazine by clicking here.

January 1, 2010 · Filed Under Conservation

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