It appears there is no end in sight for what many consider to be the worst drought the state of Georgia has endured in decades. We've seen numerous aerial views of large lakes that supply water for the 5.5 million Atlanta metropolitan area residents drying up. It is so bad that Lake Lanier (located about 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta) is in record low territory with only about 80 days left of available drinking water.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Rhonda Cook reported yesterday that governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency for most of the state and is looking for federal aid from President George W. Bush to help in relief efforts. About 85 counties in the southeastern United States has been severely affected by this drought.
Metro Atlanta already has a watering ban in effect and given that the drought continues to worsen with the lack of rainfall, violators are subject to very stiff penalties and even jail time if caught.
About 3.2 billion gallons of water flow out of lakes in northern Georgia every day. Then we see why Governor Perdue expressed an even greater sense of urgency than ever before since the drought began.
As Halloween approaches, there is an apparent dispute between Georgia state officials and United States government agencies over the priority of releasing any remaining water down the Chattahoochee River to the Gulf Coast in northern Florida to maintain endangered wildlife. Georgia officials are asking the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife reduce releases of water from Lake Lanier to that region until at least March 1, 2008. Whether or not a lawsuit filed in federal court in Jacksonville will force the two federal government agencies to honor that request remains to be seen.
At the same time, Alabama officials have complained that Georgia is withholding too much water from Lake Alltoona from its neighboring state to the west. With a dwindling water supply across the entire region of the country, the louder and more intense the squabbling expects to get as desperation to conserve rises.
Perdue began to make his rounds on local and national television networks to put the pressure on President Bush to take action. Earlier today, he took his message to Cable News Network airwaves this morning on CNN Sunday. He hopes that Georgians will take the necessary steps to save as much water as possible. State officials set up the Conserve Water Georgia web site to educate and advise its citizens how to act accordingly.
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia (a southern suburb of Atlanta) issued a comprehensive report on how brutal this exceptional drought has been in northern Georgia this year. In their October 16th update, Atlanta is barely above the record lowest annual rainfall. Through October 15, 2007, only 24.68 inches of rain has fallen this calendar year. The all-time record low in the same period was 23.14 in 1931. Since 1971, Atlanta has averaged 50.2 inches per year. Goes to show how really bad this drought really is.
Just a small bit of good news would be that Mother Nature might provide a miniscule of relief during the next two days in Atlanta as rain is in the forecast. Tomorrow (Monday) is more likely to receive steadier rain than Tuesday, but they'll take as much as they can get right now. No doubt about that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment