A Message From The Mayor on Water Conservation

1. What are the water challenges that we face in metro Atlanta?

The Chattahoochee River provides a very limited supply of water for such a large metropolitan area. It is one of the smallest rivers to provide the water supply to a major metropolitan area. Lots of people, from the hills of North Georgia to Middle Georgia farms to Florida's Gulf Coast, depend on this very small river for their water.

2. What do you think is the best way to address those challenges?

The best way is for all of us to do our part. The City of Atlanta is implementing the Clean Water Atlanta program to help us improve and manage our water resources. Clean Water Atlanta was determined by national experts to be the best, most cost-efficient and cost-effective way to address the challenges of providing clean safe water for Atlanta and our neighbors downstream. As individual citizens, we can do our part by conserving water and not polluting our local waterways.

3. Why is conserving water and protecting water quality so important to north Georgia?

The Atlanta metro area is the economic engine for the state. The economic viability of Georgia depends on the health and prosperity of Atlanta, and Atlanta’s vitality is dependent on the availability of clean, safe water.

4. What are some of the steps local governments are taking to address water quality? To address water conservation?

Watersheds don’t adhere to political boundaries, so it takes a joint effort among all those who depend on metro Atlanta’s water resources. For example, Atlanta and Fulton County jointly operate a water treatment facility, so what happens to the river affects both jurisdictions. Not just Atlantans, but everybody in our watershed must work together to protect our water. Mayors and county officials in the metro area are working together to address the challenges of clean water and take steps to conserve this precious resource. Atlanta offers conservation workshops to teach people how to conserve and save water and encourages the use of water saving fixtures in the home and business. Several cities are imposing restrictions on outdoor watering when the water supply is low. Cities are encouraging xeriscaping (gardening using plants that don’t need much water) and the use of pervious surfaces for parking lots and similar spaces to help control stormwater runoff.

5. What are the major sources of water pollution?

We usually think of water pollution as the permitted “point” discharges from wastewater plants, industries and businesses, However, non-point source pollution represents our biggest problem. Atlanta has a large amount of impervious paved surfaces. When it rains, stormwater picks up all the trash and toxins in the street and on the parking lots and conveys it right to our streams and rivers.

6. What is being done to clean up the Chattahoochee and how successful has that been?

Atlanta has two major programs underway that are already showing benefits to the Chattahoochee. Our remarkably successful CSO remediation program will decrease the number of overflows from our combined sewer area from 100 per year to four per year. The West Area CSO tunnel and the Custer Storage facility in East Atlanta will store sewage and stormwater until it can be transferred to a treatment plant and treated. Under the Sewer System Evaluation Survey program, we are inspecting every inch of sewer line in Atlanta and performing repairs and replacement as needed. Our sewer rehabilitation work throughout the city is reducing sanitary sewer overflows, inflow and infiltration problems. The Nancy Creek tunnel – which we completed in December of 2005 - is already eliminating capacity problems and sewer backups in rapidly growing north Atlanta.

7. Why is it important to be a good upstream neighbor? Why should we be good stewards of our water resources?

Much of the agriculture in south Georgia needs irrigation from the Chattahoochee. Without clean rivers, there would be no Vidalia onions or Appalachicola Bay oysters. Besides that, it’s the right thing to do. We have to return water to the Chattahoochee River that is clean enough to be withdrawn and treated, then distributed as drinking water for our downstream neighbors.

8. Why should individual citizens care about water quality? About water conservation?

The quality of water is the single most important thing in people’s lives. If the price of gas goes up, you can cut down on driving. If the price of food goes up, you can grow your own. But we cannot live without clean water. Contaminated water can cause serious illness and even death. Many of the world’s poorer nations struggle with that constantly and, even here in the U.S., we’ve had occasional incidences of e coli contamination that have proven fatal. Clean water is THE single most important thing a government provides to its residents. You don’t know how much you need clean water until you don’t have it.

9. How does what we do as individuals and as a community affect our lakes, rivers and streams?

We rarely equate the things we do in our yards and streets with polluting our rivers and streams, but everyday we contribute to non-point source pollution. Some of our everyday activities seem innocent enough, but are actually the culprits in local water pollution. For example, when you over-fertilize or apply pesticides and then water your lawn, those chemicals go into our waterways and cause all kinds of problems for fish and other living things. When you change the oil in your car at home, the wasted oil runs down the driveway or gets washed by rain right into the storm drain. When you cook and pour grease or fatty leftovers down your drain, the grease clogs up our sewer pipes and causes backups into our rivers and streams. Everyday people doing everyday things inadvertently cause more pollution than all the factory spills combined.

10. What are some of the things individuals can do to help protect water resources?

• Conserve Water.
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
• Only use the dishwasher when you have a full load. A dishwasher uses only 3-4 gallons of water, but if you let the water run when you wash dishes, you can waste 15-20 gallons.
• Fix leaky toilets and fixtures.
• Replace your toilets with low-flow models.
• Limit the time you are in the shower.
• Water your lawn, not your driveway or sidewalk and observe watering restrictions imposed by state and local governments.
• Don’t pollute: Don’t litter or dump trash and old furniture into streams.
• Pick up pet waste and dispose of it in a trash can.
• Reuse cooking oil when you can, and when it’s time to discard it, pour it over newspaper or paper towels and throw it away.
Basically we need to remember – water is our most precious resource. Every day, in little ways, you can help ensure a plentiful supply of clean, safe water for future generations and for our neighbors downstream.

Please visit the following websites for more information
Mayor Shirley Franklin's Stakeholder Letter On Water Conservaton
www.conservewatergeorgia.net
www.watersmart.net

Current restrictions
Watering restrictions

City of Atlanta
55 Trinity Avenue
Suite 5400
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Tel: 404.330.6000
Fax: 404.658.6637

Customer Service
Call: 404.658.6500
watershedhelp@atlwater.com

Mayor Shirley Franklin