WATER WEEK IN REVIEW

> Forsyth County's outdoor water restrictions have been modified to align with those of the state of Georgia. The only change resulting from these modifications involves exemptions for new landscaping. Those who successfully complete an Outdoor Water Use Registration Program are allowed to water newly installed landscape up to three days a week following the odd-even schedule for a period of 10 weeks following planting. The Outdoor Water Use Registration Program is available online at www.urbanagcouncil.com.

> Gwinnett's water revenues fell 3 percent in early 2008 compared with last year because of water conservation efforts. The system usually has a growth rate between 5 percent and 10 percent.

> EPD Chief Carol Couch denied Atlanta's request to impose stricter outdoor watering rules and asked Mayor Shirley Franklin to specify what watering restrictions to impose specific to the city. Atlanta had to loosen its water restriction rules because a new law passed in mid-May makes it illegal for local governments to stray from the state's water rules without permission.

—- Nisa Asokan

LAKE LANIER

202: Billion gallons of available water in Lake Lanier for drinking, sewerage and power generation.

211: Million gallons being added daily, on average, to Lanier.

719: Days it would take Lanier to fill at this rate.

WORDS ON WATER

"It takes time to recover. And, with summer upon us, it's important for us to not move too quickly. We're still behind the eight ball, and we're going into high-demand season."

—- Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb., talking about the drought in the Atlanta region

For the latest information on the drought, log on to ajc.com/drought

 LAKE CAPACITIES
100%: Allatoona Lake 
(not part of the Chattahoochee River basin) 
 
99%: West Point Lake
 
89%: W.F. George Lake

57%: Lake Lanier
 
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers