Dear Editor:

I read with great interest Sen. Chip Pearson’s comments (published Sept. 24, 2007 in the Dawson News) to his constituents regarding the proposed Statewide Water Plan which Sen. Pearson and his colleagues are scheduled to take up during the 2008 General Assembly.

In his comments, Sen. Pearson contends that reservoirs and interbasin transfers are necessary to meet the water needs of North Georgians. As Georgia taxpayers these comments should cause us to hold on to our wallets. As residents of North Georgia who care about clear-flowing mountain streams, beautiful river valleys and our property rights, his comments should leave us reeling. 

Reservoirs are the least cost effective means of extending our limited water supply, and they result in the most environmental damage, destroying habitat for native fish and other wildlife and altering the flows of rivers and streams downstream from reservoir projects. And, which one of us is willing to forfeit our property to the government for a man-made reservoir?

As for interbasin transfers from the Tennessee River, good luck! If Sen. Pearson found it difficult to pass legislation reducing our state’s stream buffer laws (his measure was soundly defeated by a 139-30 vote in the House during 2006) wait until he stands before Tennessee’s Governor and asks to “borrow” some water. 

The best solution for extending water supplies in North Georgia is to use the cheapest tools in the box and use them effectively—water conservation and water-use efficiency.

For example, right now in Metro Atlanta, retrofitting the one million homes with old water-wasting plumbing fixtures with water-saving fixtures could save 42 million gallons a day at virtually no cost to state or local governments. By contrast, the Yahoola Creek Reservoir project in Lumpkin County has cost taxpayers more than $14 million. Expected yields from this reservoir were only 6 million gallons a day. 

Touting reservoirs as the best tool for meeting water demands is like using a chainsaw to trim your boxwoods. It just doesn’t make sense. 

In the midst of this drought, let’s not jump to the conclusion that reservoirs and interbasin transfers are the only solutions to our water needs. There’s better, more cost-effective ways to keep enough clean water for everyone in North Georgia. Reservoirs should always be the last resort.

I would encourage all residents of North Georgia to attend the State Water Plan Public Hearing scheduled for Oct. 16 at Gainesville State College at 6 p.m. Tell Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division and the Georgia Water Council who have been charged with creating this plan that you want a water management plan that requires efficient water use everywhere and all the time.

Until this is guaranteed, we should step with great caution into the murky waters of funding reservoirs.

Joe Cook
Executive Director & Riverkeeper
Coosa River Basin Initiative