Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
recent years, all Georgians and their regional neighbors have been learning how water itself
might flow from distant river basins to money via interbasin transfers, an interconnected
neo-Super Power network of water distribution lines, or other water exchanges. Solutions
to the regional water puzzle lie in Georgia and involve a complex combination of policy,
infrastructure, and individual behavioral modifications that will also be required of every-
one everywhere to meet U.S. water demands in the twenty-first century.
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Georgia policy makers, for example, have built an impressive framework over the last
decade to improve water supply management now and into the future. The state could serve
as an example if other regions could find value in Georgia's policy instruments such as
statewide water planning and water conservation through legislation. However, observers
must recognize that with limited enforcement and anemic funding mechanisms in place,
Georgia is a poor example and is not preparing its citizens or regional water planning coun-
cils to follow through and implement lasting solutions. Among federal water quality tools
at their disposal, natural resource agencies must enforce Clean Water Act permit require-
ments and fine offenders. Strong clean water policies protect and improve water quality,
and strict enforcement will ultimately result in less costly treatment—and lower drinking-
water utility bills for consumers—while benefiting communities' long-term economic and
environmental health. Federal engagement in water supply management is also critical.
Times have changed at federal sites such as Georgia's Lake Lanier and Buford Dam, and
federal water managers must clearly redefine authorized uses for these water projects. And
since there is no such thing as a free lunch, federal reallocation for municipal water supply
must require existing and future permitted users to alter behavior. For example, communit-
ies that derive water from federal water projects must demonstrate an aggressive reduction
in consumption and water loss as a condition for access. Finally, water is a numbers game:
State and federal regulators calibrate water withdrawal and pollutant discharge permits to
river flows. But a critical sticking point has existed for a half-century. In the United States,
the nation's groundwater and surface water supplies and use have never been fully and sys-
tematically quantified because reporting is spotty, states do not have adequate in-stream
flow standards, and communities and commercial entities do not always know how much
water they actually consume. Honest and transparent water budgeting across all econom-
ic sectors—municipal and private water and energy utilities and agricultural and industrial
interests—is incredibly difficult but is imperative for future policy decisions.
Nationwide our transportation and water infrastructure—our roads, bridges, dams, and
pipes—is crumbling. New technologies, such as new reservoirs or extensive pipeline net-
works to move water, can provide short-term solutions for the region's water supply de-
ficiencies. Flood control solutions such as floodplain zoning, improved municipal sewage
and stormwater management, and “green infrastructure” that better manages water where
it initially falls will also help. These adaptations will manage risks but could also manu-
