With lake tapped out, we can’t just go with flow

Water levels in Lake Lanier will be reaching another all-time low in the coming weeks. More alarming, however, is the fact that during this past year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has only released enough water to support metro Atlanta needs and minimum flows required to dilute wastewater downstream. And while the drought continues, we are about 20 percent below average rainfall this year.

In other words, metro Atlanta has essentially used all the water flowing into Lake Lanier in 2008. This is a clear wake-up call —- and while we have hit the snooze button after past droughts, we cannot afford to do it again.

We are approaching the sustainable limit of our small watershed. This is a reality that demands a fundamental reassessment of the water challenges we face and the actions we must take. Twenty years in court and conflict have not resolved the issue.

We need to take action on this critical issue now —- and we need to involve all stakeholders, from recreational fishermen on Lake Lanier to commercial fishermen in Apalachicola Bay. That means not just state and local governments, but business, environmental groups, agriculture, water and power utilities and citizens.

As concerned citizens and community leaders, we have come together over the last six months, under the auspices of Sustainable Atlanta, to push our collective thinking on a longer-term plan for water management in the City of Atlanta. We believe that a comprehensive approach focusing both on the water supply (infrastructure) and demand (use and efficiency) side is necessary.

And action needs to take place on three related fronts: policy, technology and awareness.

We need smart policy in the city and metro region and across the state to encourage good water actions and discourage unsustainable practices —- in households and all other use sectors.

We need to apply technology to improve water management and efficiency, ensuring that infrastructure is updated not just as a one-time fix, but on an ongoing basis. Another critical requirement is that the corps change its water management and releases from Lanier to maximize benefits to all stakeholders.

And we need to be more aggressive in awareness and education programs to garner support of our citizens and businesses.

No one solution in isolation will be successful. We need all three. But it can be done. Several peer cities have programs that, if embraced here, could provide the real solutions we need:

> Boston —- an aggressive program of leak detection and repair, new meters, audits and plumbing retrofits beginning in the mid-1980s means Boston now uses less water than in 1911!

> San Diego —- a “20 gallon challenge” asking citizens to pledge to conserve is saving 500,000 gallons per day.

> Seattle —- a 20-year focus on efficiency has Seattle using less water than in 1950, avoiding $100 million in costs and serving twice as many people.

Taking bold action on water will mean spending money, but the payback is worthwhile on environmental and economic fronts. Boston spent $40 million to avoid $500 million in long-term water supply costs; Seattle’s savings of $100 million came after spending $30 million.

Our future economic vitality depends on getting this right. Atlanta cannot continue to grow, attract business and offer quality of life if we are in perpetual water crisis. But we can only tackle this challenge if we muster the political will to do so.

While the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District is engaged in the most sophisticated water planning in the state, going above and beyond state requirements, the district does not go far enough in truly leading metro Atlanta cities, counties, citizens and businesses to understand and respond to the situation at hand.

For example, the district calls for 13 percent reduction in water usage over the next 27 years. To put that into proper context, we have reduced 20 percent over the last 12 to 18 months, in response to the severe drought of 2007. Transition to the conservation culture we need will require even bolder actions.

Lake Lanier’s perennial record low-water levels are sending a powerful message: We are tapped out and time for real action is now. Building on the metro district’s plan and other efforts, we need to move beyond “business as usual” and come together around more aggressive conservation targets and infrastructure planning. We cannot afford to do less if we are to ensure a sustainable and vital future for Atlanta.

Rob Hunter is commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management for the City of Atlanta. Jeff Seabright is vice-president of Environment and Water Resources at The Coca-Cola Company.