Georgia Wildlife Federation

Throughout Georgia revenues are flat or down. Business is off. Unemployment is up. The news seems uniformly dismal these days with each new report triggering calls for more reductions in spending by the state government. Governor Perdue has called for all department heads to submit three budgets for the coming fiscal year — each reflecting deeper cuts and reductions (6 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent). A recent press release from Chris Clark, the Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, announced that $40 million for reservoir development had been swept back into the general fund to be redirected to other uses; the $10 million in funds allocated for land conservation evaporated also.

But while the state adjusts numbers on its budget spreadsheets, nothing has changed for Georgia's environment: A handful of local governments and water authorities are dreaming and planning for new reservoirs. Metro Atlanta generally decries the bright orange line of exposed Lake Lanier shoreline created by the drop in lake level — yet no one talks of re-examining land use or other controllable factors affecting water consumption. And various threats to a healthy environment go unchecked because the funding and staffs of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Division have been decimated by years, if not decades, of previous departmental budget cuts demanded during better economic times.

But back to water: arguably one of the biggest threats of all — unrestrained, unplanned water consumption — continues. The General Assembly passed a significantly weakened statewide comprehensive water management plan in the 2008 session with no statutory teeth. Then, they immediately passed legislation to provide funding for reservoirs without a requirement that they first conform to any sort of master plan to protect adequate water resources for other affected Georgians.

Is there any good news? Yes, there is a silver lining to this torrent of dismal news — a perfect opportunity, if only we'll take advantage of it.

Think about this: If your company or employer needed to purchase some hypothetical system to sustain the organization's lifeblood products and could choose between a system that is tremendously expensive and would take nearly a decade before delivering any results whatever, OR a simple process that cost a fraction of the first and could begin delivering benefits immediately, which would the company choose?

No one has a "right" to unlimited water consumption. Landowners are guaranteed reasonable use of the water that flows past their property. All other citizens are ensured water by Georgia's water law. But if the overall total amount available in a river basin dwindles — for whatever reason — we all share the responsibility to use less.

Current budget shortfalls demand that wildly expensive options for solving the water dilemma before it's too late are now off the table. Yet, so far, the most economical approach — implementing real conservation — has been given lip service at best.

On average it costs between 50 cents and $1.50 for 1,000 gallons of water through conservation and efficiency steps, compared with $4,000 for the same 1,000 gallons of water gained through reservoir construction, according to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. The choice between these two options should be a no-brainer.

Moreover, a true conservation and efficiency strategy could begin to yield results almost immediately through a suite of water-saving steps that could be started in the very near term to cut water use statewide: water harvesting, purple (gray water) pipes or dual water systems, elimination of water leaks from public and private water systems, real conservation water pricing, xeriscaping and improved agricultural practices, to mention a few. On the other hand, reservoir construction would take eight to ten years before any results could be expected.

Our current season of economic gloom is a perfect opportunity for us to get serious about this seemingly novel approach to an environmental challenge that actually might provide new business opportunity AND can diminish the impact on the public purse. What are we waiting for?

On another note, we say goodbye to two fine GWF staff members: Sarah Barmeyer, our Water Issues Coordinator, is off to Washington, DC, where her attorney husband Wilson will join a law firm. And Christina Marr, Volunteer Coordinator for the Mill Creek Nature Center, returns to school — actually Brenau College in Gainesville — to obtain an advanced education degree. We wish them both well.

Finally, I hope you'll join me out in the unique and very special outdoors that is Georgia as the summer winds down. And, as you're hiking trails, watching birds or readying for a hunt, please keep in mind that only by speaking up on behalf of this fabulous habitat can we ensure that it stays functional.