Water Shortage

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

The drought in Georgia and other parts of the southeast is really starting the hit the new. I suppose this might be because CNN is headquartered in Atlanta, but it also looks quite extreme.

That surprises me that it has gone so far that the governor is asking for disaster status. I had heard about the drought last summer, but when I was staying at the Marriott for DragonCon last month I don't recall seeing any 'Help Us Save Water' notices at the hotel. I've seen them at hotels I've stayed at in the west, specifically an option for not having your bedsheets changed every day, so they can save water on laundry. Do they just have more practice with droughts in the west than in the south?

[Leda EmBorr]

I've seen that message in the Carribean, in hotels when there was a drought. Never in the US.

I drove through GA yesterday, and there was smoke in the air on I-95, at certain rest stops. But I have not seen, nor heard anything of the drought on the news since the summer.

[Granny-Wan]

Hotels all over the west have those notices... hang up the towels you want to reuse, leave the card on the bed if you don't need your sheets changed every day.

I know California and Arizona have had a LOT of experience with droughts!

[Kryy Jacobi]

I've seen that type of sign in many hotels at which I've stayed in the past few years... all in the South and mainly Tennessee... just haven't stayed at any hotels in Atlanta for obvious reasons! I drove in for Dragon*Con...

We've had a number of droughts over the years, with varying levels of water restrictions, fines, etc., and all summer we've been watching with dismay as Lake Lanier's shoreline got wider and wider...

I think this one hit "critical" b/c in late September the lakes and reservoirs hit a 90-day level assuming no rain. There are a whole lot of issues other than "no rain" but IMO one of the "biggies" is that explosive regional growth has out-paced infrastructure. (Lots of issues there, on which I will not opine...)

And actually we DO have rain -- it's been raining for two days -- but we need a WHOLE LOT of rain (such as "leftovers" from a hurricane) to fill the reservoirs back up.

So in the meantime, we're all being mindful of water use and we thank you for your prayers.