The lake is gone. Visitors can see its lake bed contours, rising and falling like a series of dunes.

The waterfall is silent. It's as dry as the lake.

The shrimp boat is mired in a few inches of water. Soon, it will be in dry dock.

Officials at the Georgia Aquarium have emptied displays that once sloshed with water in response to the region's continuing drought. In the past two weeks, they've drained the atrium lake; turned off the waterfall at its River Scout exhibit; and have nearly emptied the moat where the shrimp trawler Billi's Boat is permanently docked at the Georgia Explorer exhibit.

The water, said Dave Santucci, the aquarium's director of public relations, was reused, not sent downstream.

Emptying the watery exhibits is part of "long-term solutions," said Santucci. "We've been thinking about this for a long time."

The thinking is timely, with watering bans in place and three southern governors squabbling over water usage. According to water-use records from Atlanta, which supplies the Georgia Aquarium with water, the world's largest fishtank is a thirsty facility.

The aquarium has averaged about 4 million gallons a month from January to July this year. It has used 116 million gallons since opening its taps in March 2005. Santucci compared the usage to that of a large hotel, serving guests, employees and hosting special events.

Other water-saving measures the aquarium has put into effect, or is planning:

• Replacing 31 urinals with waterless urinals. The porcelain devices are on order.

• Replacing every faucet with low-flow faucets. The aquarium also is putting low-flow heads in its showers, which divers use.

• Pressure-washing the building has been banned.

• Observing the outdoor watering ban.

• Requiring all employees and volunteers to take a water-conservation course.

The aquarium also is looking at the water its cooling systems lose through condensation, said Santucci. The units may produce "hundreds of thousands of gallons" of water that could be trapped and reused, he said.