Home > Gwinnett.talk > Archives > 2007 > November > 16 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWhat do you think of UGA’s water conservation plan?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Friday, UGA —the biggest water customer in Athens-Clarke County— announced its recommendations on how to conserve water and reduce its use.
From eliminating automatic flushing toilets and urinals to investigating installation of hand sanitizers in bathrooms, the university hopes to reduce its water consumption by 25 percent in the short term. Also on the list: using towels in its Ramsey Center, a massive physical fitness facility and harvesting and using rainwater as much as possible.
Are these things you would ever consider in your home, work? And, perhaps the most-important question: will it work?
Comments
By john hansman
November 16, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this
This might be a good time to start removing some of the junk that has piled up in the lake over the years. Maybe take a bulldozer through there and widen out some of those channels.
By wolfe
November 16, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this
I know this is off the blog about the UGA water situation but I can’t hold it any longer. Do the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Corps of Engineers think Georgians are so illiterate that we can’t do the math? If the water is being released at 3,600 gallons a second and there are 86,400 seconds in 24 hours, then that means the Corps will be releasing 2.9 million gallons of water a day downstream. That is what is already being released daily if not more (according to news reports). What is the Corps emergency response to help the animal life in Florida when Lanier runs out of water? Then, what is FEMA’s emergency plan to supply water to Atlanta when this occurs. If they don’t have one, then they need to be working on one because that day is coming!!!
By Wolfe
November 16, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this
That’s 2.9 Billion a day instead of the 2.9 Million I typed. My mistake.
By One
November 16, 2007 3:58 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe how much shyt is at the bottom of Lake Lanier!! How in the world can this lake be safe? I truly believe you have to be of a certain breed to swim in a lake anyway, but dayum, that’s just nasty!! Now the real question is………….who’s going to clean up the lake while they have the chance?
By joeybagOdoughnuts
November 16, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this
Great, now lets build some more of those lovely strip malls. We got us some water Sonny, let them chainsaws rip, we got some banks and nail salons to build! Let’s look at the real issue folks, over development!!!!! Stop telling us home owners to take shorter showers and start telling developers to take a hike!
By Chris
November 17, 2007 11:23 AM | Link to this
Tech. AND Cultural Recommendations
UGA’s water conservation plan can work and the university can be a leading example for the state and region. The plan offers numerous suggestions for infrastructure improvements – both for the short and long terms. These technological recommendations will cost money, but are worthy. Many of the recommendations can be applied at varying scales in daily life, in homes, and in businesses.
But technology will only go so far. The report repeatedly recommends cultivating a conservation ethic within the University community. The authors place significant weight on a public relations campaign to change community culture: in research labs, in athletics, and among the majority of students who live off-campus (only 20% of students live on-campus). Using personal towels and consuming water obtained off-campus, as recommended, will quickly illustrate the connection between personal behavior and water consumption. But these cultural changes will only come to reality if the university’s leadership embeds environmental awareness in its core mission as recommended by this report. Then, the learning on-campus will transfer off-campus to the larger community, state, and region.