[Cedars]

I popped in my RLUA disk for info on your area. This particular Land Use Area includes the western 1/2 of N.C. S.C. and about 2/3rds of Va. and about 1/3 of Georgia. Heres some of the data:

The total withdrawals average 12,720 million gallons per day
(48,145 million liters per day). This MLRA ranks third among
all of the MLRAs in total amount of water used. About 4
percent is from ground water sources, and 96 percent is from
surface water sources.

Industry and thermoelectric
power plants use most of the surface water in this area.

Following are the estimated withdrawals of freshwater by use
in this MLRA:
Public supply—surface water, 11.1%; ground water, 1.1%
Livestock—surface water, 0.7%; ground water, 0.2%
Irrigation—surface water, 0.5%; ground water, 0.1%
Other—surface water, 83.9%; ground water, 2.5%

What I am wondering is, what kind of water intensive industry do you have going on in that area to be putting such a high demand on the water supply?

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by HydrogenBond

I live in northern Florida about an hour or so from the Georgia border. This area was under drought over the past several years with a lot of forest fires in the srping. A few weeks ago we recieved 12-20 inches of rain due to a nor'easter, with some places, close-by, getting 16 inches in two days. I only got about 12 inches during those two peak days. When this is averaged into the yearly total, the numbers hide the inpact of drought.

Water has still been relatively plentiful here due to the St John's river and the aquafirs. All that rain water, drained off within a day or two and now things look normal again. Since the water ban, near the beginning of the summer, one can only irrigate their lawns twice a week, using no more than 1 inch each day. Before then, one could leave the sprinklers running. Many were on timers, running even during afternoon thunderstorms. The soil is sandy and the sun is hot, so the water doesn't stay in the ground.

What is sort of interesting about this area is the St John's River. This river runs from south to north, whereas most rivers go from north to south. It hooks into Lake Okeechobee and its surround swamp, in lower central Florida. The river is up to 2-3mi wides near where I am, and is subject to tidal flows, with high-low tide partially changing river direction. Between the ocean output and lake-swamp input, its stays relatively steady, heavy rain or drought. Atlanta should see if Florida will allow them to tap the St John's river. There is enough to share.

The great thing about Florida is that aquifers cover much of the state.
Underground

The Floridan aquifer is one of the most productive aquifers in the world in terms of total water yield.. The thick limestone of the Floridan aquifer underlie all of the state and extend into parts of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Most of the Floridan aquifer lies beneath several hundred feet of sediments. For much of the state, it is the principal source of water supply. It is generally not usable in the region south of Lake Okeechobee due to its high salt content. There, as well as in the extreme western part of the state and along much of both coasts, other aquifers are used to supply fresh water.

Nonetheless, I don't think it's practical to pump/haul water that far.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Turtle

I watched a report yesterday, or such a matter, on the Atlanta lake running dry and the focus was on people turning other people in for watering violations. Apparently there is a call-in radio show dedicating time to just complaints? I understood them to say no outdoor watering is allowed? Industries having to shut down in Atlanta?

Anyway, it sounds like some people are as much in danger from fighting as thirst. An ounce of prevention is worth a gallon of cure?

I've got a creek in my back yard, and a fire hydrant in the front yard. I'll be alright at least...

[Zythryn]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Any other differences between what? Buffy's story(CA) and mine(GA)?

No, the difference between the two lakes you mentioned. You said the difference was that one was allowed to drain so the river downstream stayed at a certain level. Is that the only difference though?
Intersesting info Cedar about the water use. Freeztar, are there multiple high water usage plants in the area? Coal, Nuclear, or manufacturing?
I didn't realize power plants or industry used THAT much water. However it makes sense if there are a lot in the area.
Could be another benifit to solar/wind power generation

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Zythryn

No, the difference between the two lakes you mentioned. You said the difference was that one was allowed to drain so the river downstream stayed at a certain level. Is that the only difference though?
Intersesting info Cedar about the water use. Freeztar, are there multiple high water usage plants in the area? Coal, Nuclear, or manufacturing?
I didn't realize power plants or industry used THAT much water. However it makes sense if there are a lot in the area.
Could be another benifit to solar/wind power generation

For Lake Lanier, I don't know of any high water usage facilities, besides the hydroelectric dam of course. Cedars report seemed to take info from the northern third of Georgia and I suspect it factored in the Etowah River system, which feeds Lake Alatoona (also very low levels). That area of Georgia (NW) is renowned for carpet manufacturing. Most of these textile facilities are located on major rivers and consume LOTS of water.
Without knowing the exact sample area for Cedars' data, I would hazard a guess that much of the commercial water use that is shown is due to carpet and rug manufacturing.

[Cedars]

Carpets/rugs makes sense. I wonder how much water conservation went into the design aspects of these plants when they were constructed, and if that might be an area of improvement that should be looked at.

Heres a map of the area the data comes from. Its the orange area:

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Cedars

Carpets/rugs makes sense. I wonder how much water conservation went into the design aspects of these plants when they were constructed, and if that might be an area of improvement that should be looked at.

Heres a map of the area the data comes from. Its the orange area:

Hmmm...that area actually does not include Dalton, GA ("Carpet Capital of the World"). Thus, I would have to guess that the commercial water usages in the orange area of Georgia are from industries in and around Atlanta. It would be nice to see a breakdown of the "other" uses.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Zythryn

Intersesting info Cedar about the water use.

I posted a link in Enviro Studies, under a thread named Regional Land Use or something like that. You can download it from the Dept.of Ag or ask them to send you a disk for free (they still had them in March when I got mine).

There is an amazing amount of info on the USA within.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Hmmm...that area actually does not include Dalton, GA ("Carpet Capital of the World"). Thus, I would have to guess that the commercial water usages in the orange area of Georgia are from industries in and around Atlanta. It would be nice to see a breakdown of the "other" uses.

I also wish there was a better breakdown. Some of the regions data give clues, such as in Wisconsin's data contained a sentence that said "the pulp wood industry uses the majority of industrial water in this area". Different Regional office compilations reaching the final report I guess.

I guess I will have to search more for another gov site that gives more of that data.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Cedars

I guess I will have to search more for another gov site that gives more of that data.

I've been looking. I'll post a link if I find something.
In the meantime, I found this site:
US Drought Monitor