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Without water conservation Georgia will not be able to meet its water demands of the future.
Water users in Georgia and throughout the United States have been successful with water conservation initiatives. Reducing water use, waste, and loss can provide many benefits:
Water conservation can reduce production costs and taxes. Georgia's Clayton County Water Authority has saved $9.00 in reduced water production for every $1.00 invested in a water-conserving leak detection and repair program.
Water conservation can save water resources for future generations. As population boomed and groundwater withdrawals increased, causing saltwater contamination on the coast, the City of Savannah, GA, reduced groundwater withdrawals 3.8 million gallons a day through a water-conserving, toilet rebate and educational program for city residents.
Water conservation can protect water quality and the environment. Increasing surface water withdrawals decreases streamflows. Lower streamflows are not able to assimilate, or wash away, waste and pollutants that threaten human and environmental health. The Metro North Georgia Water Planning District's 11 conservation measures were adopted, in part, to help ensure the streamflows needed to assimilate waste.
Water conservation can expand the life of existing supplies. The costs of developing new water sources are increasing annually. Athens/Clarke County, GA, hired a full-time coordinator to implement their water conservation plan in an effort to extend the life of their existing and limited water supplies.
As much as 60% of all household water use in the summer
months is used outdoors for landscape purposes.
Water conservation is the "beneficial reduction in
water use, waste, and loss" and is proven to be the
most economical and environmentally protective means of meeting
the challenges of water supply management.
Water conservation activities can help us save water, save
time, and save money year round, not just in the summer.
Water Conservation activities can have many benefits.
If you Water Smart, you can:
Save Your Plants
- Established lawns equire only rabout one inch of water every seven to ten days.
- Over-watering encourages shallow root growth, which causes grass to lose its ability to survive drought.
- For more information on saving your plants, go to Outdoor Conservation Tips.
Save Your Pocketbook
- Watering your lawn can be expensive.
- Water providers are beginning to adopt conservation rate structures throughout Georgia. In other words, the more you use, the more you pay. Click here for more information about water rates.
Save Your Environment
- High water demand requires more water be withdrawn from natural
sources.
- By reducing our demand, we can leave water in streams, rivers
and aquifers to protect aquatic wildlife and to wash away pollutants
that threaten human and environmental health.
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