Posted on 10/18/2007 3:55:58 AM PDT by msrngtp2002
Georgia Officials Threaten to Sue Corp of Engineers Over Draining Reservoirs
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Let the water supply run out, and it will.
Tennessee will see your nukes and raise you 250,000 pissed off rednecks with shotguns, four wheel drives and plenty of water......
The guys running the dam SHOULD have simply looked at the lake, which was OBVIOUSLY _WAY_ below where it should have been. Instead, they were slavishly obedient to a broken depth gauge, which told them to let _lots_ of water out.
Once the busted gauge was fixed, they SHOULD have slowed the release at least a bit until the lake was re-filled.
(FYI: I live a mile from the lake.)
Report them! Water restrictions are moving to a zero-tolerance policy (water lawn, water supply gets shut off).
There’s a simple middle ground. Water just enough to keep plants alive...they don’t need to look lush and green. Grass goes dormant but will green back up. Trees will tell you when they NEED water and at that point give them a good deep watering. Not this three times a week stuff.
My brother lives in the area and says, “Now is the time to take some heavy equipment into the lakes and actually make them deeper. Lanier is always dirty because it is so shallow.” So, why not make them deeper when they are bone dry?
Well, in about 90 days the Endangered Species Act won't apply to the situation, will it?
/sarc
Well, while lawns are part of the problem, the real issue is large scale commercial agricultural irrigation. That’s where the real large water uses are.
And I don’t know of too many places where wetlands are being irrigated outside of where they’re used to naturally treat wastewater discharges.
The Atlanta situation is starting to remind me of the premise for the musical "Urinetown", where water is so scarce, everyone has to pay to go to the toilet and, if you can't afford it -- well, you're done away with.
Being in GA, let me say: keep it, then.
You have your “homegrown” water supply. We certainly appreciate the overrun, but if you need all you have and it’s yours then keep it; if we don’t have what we need, that’s our problem.
The problem with having the governors seize the water supplies via the National Guard is that the National Guard is really part of the Army, which also owns the Corp. of Engineers which (legally and/or practically) owns the water supplies (lakes, dams). Tellling the Army to go seize something from itself won’t help.
Lanier is always dirty because of all the traffic on the lake. I remember back in the 70's when you could see the bottom of the lake in 20' of water in the summertime. We used to dive for golf balls off shore from the Lake Lanier Islands golf course. You could easily see golf balls from 20-25' away. Not so anymore.....
Ya see, half the lake is in GA. Half the dam is in GA. And ALL of the water control is in GA. Any suggestions before GA opens the spigot?
I agree about motivations but surely you’re not suggesting we don’t do our part.
BTW, just heard on the radio, Douglas County is turning off the water of anyone they catch violating the outdoor ban. $1,000 restoration fee. Pretty compelling!!
“How his hands were tied and they could not legally do anything etc.”
This is the standard Corp answer, their Nuremburg defense while they bribe more congress creeps with make work projects in their district. I say do away with the fake engineers.
Walla Walla Sweets are the best.
Water in Atlanta is already expensive due to an issue with sewage treatment plants. (long story demonstrating decades of ignorance) Our normal water bill runs around $120/month. That is for a family of 7, without much yard watering.
I'm suggesting that "doing our part" is a poor motivator for human behavior compared to "owning our part."
And I'm just parroting older and smarter people than myself, like maybe Aristotle!
For example, indexing the monthly pricing for water to the level of the resevoir would get you a much better feedback/control system than arbitrary nanny-state police punishment of $1000 fines.
What msrngtp said is closer to this solution than fines and feel-goodery.
I saw a story on one of the public water leaks. The water was just flowing out from beneath the street curbing, and people living nearby showed up with buckets to catch the water and take it back home to water plants. They reported the leak to the city, and were told that it would be added to the long list of public water leaks to be fixed.
I stand corrected
Try the Texas 1015 onion.
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