Outdoor Watering Ban

Mayor Shirley Franklin and Commissioner Rob Hunter announced that Atlanta would continue its ban on outdoor watering. “We are still in a Level 4 drought,” Mayor Franklin said. “And we still are under an obligation to cut our use 10 percent. We can’t allow outdoor watering and meet that goal.”

Although the governor approved loosening restrictions including one 25-minute hand watering per day, the state maintained the requirement for local utilities to reduce usage by 10 percent and gave local utilities the responsibility of deciding how best to meet that goal. The Mayor pointed out that Atlanta had gone to Drought Level 3 last May, four months before the State moved from a Level 2 to a Level 4 drought, banning most outdoor watering. That means that Atlanta’s usage was already significantly reduced last summer. A 10 percent reduction on top of that already reduced usage would be “unlikely if not impossible,” according to Commissioner Hunter. Commissioner Hunter noted that the 30-day exemption for new landscaping is still in place but that the City would no longer exempt watering for lawn overseeding and aeration.

“Lake Lanier levels have dropped significantly over the past three years,” the Mayor said. “On Feb. 17, 2006, the lake was 1.97 feet below full pool. A year later, it was 4.85 feet below full pool. On Feb. 17 of this year, it was 18.32 feet below full pool. In other words, Lake Lanier is 13.5 feet below where it was at this time last year, and it is .2 feet lower than it was in November. We are still in a very serious drought.” State Climatologist David Stooksbury has predicted that the drought will continue through this summer.

Mayor Franklin did announce that pools will be exempted from the restrictions, effective immediately. “This was not an easy decision,” she said. “But we think it makes sense from a public health and safety standpoint. Atlanta gets very, very hot during the summer, and we want children and families to have access to pools.” Commissioner Hunter said that the City would continue to monitor the situation and take additional steps if necessary.

Conservation tips are available at www.atlantawatershed.org. Additionally, in keeping with the Mayor’s determination to make water conservation a top priority, the City’s water usage figures are posted on www.atlantawatershed.org every weekday.