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Water usage down in county
Published July 14, 2010
Even with temperatures trending above normal for this time of year, water usage across the county is down compared to last year — and in the case of county water users, is mirroring times when there were strict water use regulations in place.
“I believe two factors have tempered usage in June 2010,” said Morris Jordan, director of the Walton County Water Department. “First, we experienced a number of timely rains in June of 2010 which we did not in June of 2009. This enabled customers to limit watering for lawns and gardens as compared to previous years. Second, many customers continue to struggle due to the economy and are cutting back in areas where they can which includes landscaping, gardening and using less water.”
Watering restrictions are in place throughout the state, which allow outdoor watering “for purposes of planting, growing, managing or maintaining ground cover, trees, shrubs, or other plants” with the caveat of no watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. It does not apply to those who have their own water sources, like wells. There are also exceptions, which include re-sue of gray water and allows for hand-watering with a hose daily anytime of the day.
Restrictions include the odd/even watering schedule for those who want to power wash their homes or wash their cars. Odd-numbered addresses can “outdoor water for any purposes other than watering of plants” on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; even-numbered and un-numbered addresses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“At the present, I think the restrictions we have in place are showing we have reduced our water demands compared to the past,” said Chris Yancey, director of Loganville’s utilities department. “I know we learned some lessons from the past drought and I’m sure there will be more proactive measures taken if necessary to keep our water levels sustained.”
Summer represents times of heavier usage for water systems across the county, exceeding average usage by double digits for much of the county — 26 percent in the county, 20 percent for the city of Monroe and 12 percent for Loganville. But with usage down, and municipal budgets reflecting this decline, there is a ripple effect. Belts have been tightened and rates increased over the past three years — most recently this year in Social Circle.
“People got used to not wasting so much water, so our usage this year is actually lower than the last two years. Also, many houses are vacant,” said Barbara Schlageter, billing clerk for the Social Circle utility department. “Water and sewer revenues are down due to a drop in usage. The 2010-11 budget reflects a request for a rate increase to cover expenses. The anticipated increase is much less than expected a year ago due to debt refinancing down over the past winter.”
Opinions vary on whether projected water usage will trend up or down in the coming months, but there is agreement it is certainly a residual effect of a downturn in the economy.
“Water is a necessity of life and is still a bargain compared to the increases we have seen in other utilities such as electricity and gas,” Jordan said. “Based upon what I am seeing and hearing, I feel the majority of people have already pulled back and are limiting their use of water to the minimum amount of they can for cooking, bathing and drinking and would not expect usage to go much below the current level.
“The current impact of watering restrictions will be negligible on water usage in comparison to the past two years. Customers are voluntarily limiting their water use.”
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