County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Questions on Water
November 28, 2007

The following questions came up as a result of a joint water meeting I had this week with Coosa Water Authority, Notla Water Authority, and the City of Blairsville Water Dept.

Q.  Is the drought real or do we still have plenty of water in Union County?
A.  The drought is real. While all three water companies are experiencing some nervousness, none has reached a critical situation yet.

Q.  What is the situation with the county ground water levels (deep wells)?
A.  All three are experiencing an average of about a 25% decrease in the water table county wide. That is very significant!

Q.  If we are on a well, do we still have to conserve water?
A.  Everyone has to learn to conserve water.  Since the county is experiencing a 25% reduction in ground water that means the average well in the county is also about that  low.  There will be some cases where it is a little higher or lower, but this is an average.  Several shallow (bored or dug) wells have dried up and also many springs have either dried up or are experiencing smaller volumes.

Q.  Where does our drinking water in the county come from?
A.  In Union County there are three water systems and they all utilize different sources. Coosa Water has deep (drilled) wells exclusively, so they must be very sensitive to the declining groundwater levels.  Notla Water has some deep wells and also an intake in Lake Nottely.  While their wells are experiencing reduced levels, currently, Lake Nottely does not have the same problems as Lake Lanier. The Nottely Lake level is currently remaining fairly stable and the water intake is well below current lake levels.  Blairsville has deep wells and also an intake in the Nottely River South of town. Water levels in the river are estimated to be an average of about 40% of normal flow. Of course this varies directly with rainfall.

Q.  How are the stream inflows impacting Lake Nottely?
A. Lake Nottely and the watershed is experiencing rainfall 57% of normal and runoff when we have a rain is only 40% of normal. This is caused by the ground being so dry that when it does rain, much is absorbed in the soil before reaching the lake.  Their hydro power generation is 56% of normal.

Q. Is Union County in a crisis mode?
A. No we are not now, but should this drought continue into the summer months when the temperatures increase, it could definitely get very serious.

Q. What is the next level of restrictions that the state can put on counties?
A. We are currently in level 4.  If we are required to go to level 5, then it will require major reductions of water use in all residential and commercial buildings.   The water departments will then be required to monitor individual use in our homes and place fines and penalties on those who do not conserve to the levels the state will require.  Therefore, we must all start now to learn how to conserve.

Q. What is the county doing to assist?
A. Our role will be to keep you informed and try to help educate the public on how to conserve water.  We currently have a lady who spent several years in India where there is very little water working with us on a presentation for the county citizens.  We are planning on having the first presentation on December 11 at the lower level of the courthouse in the Jury Assembly room just past the Clerk of Courts office.  We will have one meeting at 5:30 pm and one at 7:00 pm to try to give everyone an opportunity to attend.

While there is a lot of information out there on how to conserve, we are finding that this information needs to be condensed and that is what we are attempting to do with these public meetings.

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