METRO ATLANTA WATER: Public hearing on plan draws demonstrators

The last of three public hearings on metro Atlanta’s long-term water plan drew about 30 umbrella-carrying protesters into sunny downtown Atlanta on Wednesday.

“The metro district plan is basically ‘hope and wish for more rain,’ ” said Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a clean water advocacy group.

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District is finalizing an update to its original 2003 water and wastewater plan that includes conservation goals, six new water-supply reservoirs and increased withdrawals from drought-depleted Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River through 2035.

Environmentalists say the plan relies too much on expensive 20th-century technology —- reservoirs and transferring water from one basin to another —- while shorting less expensive conservation methods.

Water planners counter that the proposal includes the most effective conservation tools available, from increasing the price of water for sprinkling lawns to requiring car washes built in the future to use recycled water.

Pat Stevens, the region’s environmental planner, said the water district is doing more in terms of requiring county and city governments to adopt conservation measures than any other metropolitan region in the country.

The district is accepting public comments through Jan. 31. The district board, made up of local elected officials and appointees, is expected to vote on the plan in March or April. For more information, go to www.northgeorgiawater.com or call 404-463-3256.