4 Yrs. After Water-Saving Campaign Began, Atlanta Can't Even Measure If It Worked - AJC

[hatrack]

Four years after metro Atlanta called for conservation measures that were supposed to ease water needs, there's been no metrowide accounting of how much water has been saved. Nor are there requirements for actual reductions. And critics say some of the most important steps called for in a regional plan —- retrofitting older homes with low-flow fixtures and raising billing rates for water hogs —- have yet to be fully implemented or have been watered down in some communities.

"There's a lot of smoke and mirrors," said Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, an environmental advocacy group. "With most of the water conservation programs, they are just going through the motions. They are talking the talk, but they are not following through to make sure we are really saving water."

In 2003, a board of local officials and state appointees created plans to ensure metro Atlanta had enough water through the year 2030. The 16-county region could make it, the board of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District said, but it warned that anything less than aggressive conservation would cause the area to run out of water early.

Brad Currey, a retired chief executive of packaging company Rock-Tenn, whom the governor recently appointed to the district board, said creation of the water plan was a major step. But implementation is another matter.

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http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2007/10/23/conserve1023.html