Fractured state policies waste water

By David Kyler

Our media is overloaded with political tirades devised to win the tri-state water wars with sheer bravado in lieu of reason. Evidently, all the hot air and testosterone has diminished our capacity for common sense.

Overwhelming emphasis has been placed on (1) increasing supply, primarily to quench metro Atlanta’s colossal thirst, and (2) meeting rising demands, assumed to be correlated directly with population growth and economic prospects.

This simplistic agenda neglects some fundamental options for reining in water needs through a more complete grasp and strategic use of state policy.

Taking rational steps in industrial water conservation is essential if we intend to get serious about water management. For instance, even after a decline in the paper industry, tens of millions of gallons a day are still being used in Georgia just by that one industrial activity.

Though industrial water use has declined along with the manufacturing sector, there has been no comprehensive study of the potential for further water reductions per unit of product.

In fact, when issuing or renewing withdrawal permits, the state’s only standard is that industrial users meet or exceed the national average — hardly a worthy conservation goal.

Even worse than that mediocre standard is the persistent push for wasteful expansion of heat-intensive energy production using fossil fuels and nuclear materials.

Every day, Georgia’s privately owned power plants vaporize tens of millions of gallons of water taken from Georgia’s rivers for cooling operations. Official sources routinely report that thermo-electric power production is by far the biggest single water use in Georgia — more than 2.7 billion gallons daily in 2005.

Despite the gargantuan water demands for such plants, in officially adopted energy policy, state leadership treats waterless wind and solar power as is if they are tenuous alternatives with only marginal near-term benefits — evidently because more aggressive use of these energy sources threatens the entrenched profit centers of Southern Co., a dominant political force in Georgia and beyond.

Yet, waterless power-producing alternatives are well proven throughout the world, where they’ve become major energy sources in the past 10 years. Several European countries now generate 20 percent or more of their electricity with renewable power.

During the past critical decade, when energy alternatives could have been put into use here, Georgians have become increasingly hamstrung by conventional energy technology.

Georgia’s obsolete energy policy obstinately continues, at the public’s expense. Under a recent General Assembly action, Georgians will be forced to pay, in advance, for an extremely expensive expansion of Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, which will remove millions of gallons of water a day from the already over-stressed Savannah River.

Indeed, it is likely that our next water skirmish will be with South Carolina in disputes over use of the Savannah River, driven in part by Georgia’s erratic policies.

Likewise, new coal plants are routinely green-lighted by state authorities without serious concern for their enormous claims on public waters.

Even if these plants pose no threat to water quality (and coal plants clearly do), impacts on state water supply are not seriously considered.

Unfortunately, this willful ignorance is in keeping with Georgia’s overly fragmented approach to managing public resources, including water, air and public lands.

This fragmentation threatens not only the sustainability of public resources but also the health and safety of our families, while also limiting reasonable options for future generations.

We must demand accountability in determining who uses our water and who profits from it. If state policies allow water to be squandered by certain user groups while political leaders claim a dire shortage of water needed to support growth, Georgia’s credibility — and competency — will remain justifiably suspect.

Equally important, state officials must consider all policies affecting the use and condition of critical public resources, like water, in their entirety. We can no longer afford to isolate water “management” from state policies guiding energy, land use, transportation and economic development.

State officials should monitor and plan energy and water policy together, as this is the only way to ensure that Georgia is managing its natural resources for the long haul. Without an integrated, systemwide command of state policies that consistently support responsible use of water and other public resources, we sacrifice any hope of achieving wise stewardship.

Objective and comprehensive assessment of all viable alternatives for conserving and using water — including the crucial role of energy — is vital in this endeavor.

David Kyler is executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast in St. Simons.