A common question is, how can the state loosen water restrictions when we are still in a drought? The simple answer is that water restrictions are loosened only for customers of utilities or communities that can document that they have conserved and stored the water supplies necessary to get through the drought.

Of the 168 largest water suppliers in the 55-county level-four drought area, I have approved looser water restrictions for 30 utilities and local governments, and only after a careful analysis of the state of current supplies and projected use for the remainder of the year. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division will monitor usage and is prepared to once again tighten restrictions if usage becomes excessive and puts at risk the supply of water for drinking and sanitation.

Unfortunately, not all water supplies in the 55-county area are in good shape. Lake Lanier is at record low levels and is predicted to continue to drop throughout the summer and fall. I want to thank the 3 million Georgians who depend on Lake Lanier, or direct releases from Buford Dam, for their water-conservation efforts. The conservation is keeping the lake from dropping even lower, so I cannot loosen water restrictions for these Georgians yet. I have not, as some want to believe, loosened water restrictions to allow water to be used with abandon in the face of the continuing drought.

The objective of the state's drought response is to help communities be prepared and not run out of water. Last year, as soon as predictions of a drier-than-normal winter were forecast, the State Drought Response Committee was convened and I ordered almost all of North Georgia to move from a level two to a level four drought response, which eliminated all watering of established landscapes.

Because of the critical need to store and conserve the winter rainfall, Gov. Sonny Perdue further ordered a 10 percent reduction in actual usage for the winter months, during which water use for landscape irrigation is not significant. The governor also ordered EPD, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the Division of Public Health to spring into action as the Drought Response Unified Command. This emergency response helped many communities take local measures to help conserve, store and better manage water.

The results were outstanding. Since November 2007, water use in the 55-county area has declined an average of 12 percent compared with the same period of the previous year, with reductions of 19 percent and 28 percent in April and May, respectively. Today most North Georgia communities, with the exception of those dependent on Lake Lanier, have full reservoirs or are better prepared this year to successfully manage through the drought. Georgians should take pride in this result, and should also be able to use the water they conserved while continuing prudent conservation.

I expect that the continued water-conservation measures that remain in effect will result in greater than 10 percent reduction in summer water usage. Your utility is the best source of information on what restrictions and conservation measures apply in your community. Choose to become personally responsible for water conservation. More information, such as watering tips and practices, is available at www.conservewatergeorgia.net.

> Carol A. Couch is director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.