ATL Drought (Atlanta, Savannah, Lawrenceville: neighborhood, buy, cost of)

[jessemh431]

What will happen if Atlanta runs out of water? Isn't your main source of water almost gone? The government wouldn't let a city of millions of people just become a ghost town.

So what do you think will be done if this drought doesn't come to an end?

[irvm]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

What will happen if Atlanta runs out of water? Isn't your main source of water almost gone? The government wouldn't let a city of millions of people just become a ghost town.

So what do you think will be done if this drought doesn't come to an end?

Your faith in the government may be misplaced. I think they're the ones who got us into this mess in the first place.

Anyway, if there's only enough water for - say, half the people - maybe the other half will move away. That ought to reduce the traffic congestion somewhat.

[hmcclellan]

Originally Posted by irvm

Anyway, if there's only enough water for - say, half the people - maybe the other half will move away. That ought to reduce the traffic congestion somewhat.

Too funny.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

What will happen if Atlanta runs out of water? Isn't your main source of water almost gone? The government wouldn't let a city of millions of people just become a ghost town.

Um... two words... "New Orleans". Three more... "Gulf Coast Region".

Been there? Parts to this day look like a nuke hit it. Don't think for even a second that the government wouldn't let a major city dry up and blow away.

If it were New York or L.A., then strictly for tourism, financial, and other reasons they'd pump what's needed into it. DC of course is the government so they'd do whatever it takes to save it. "Lesser" cities like Atlanta, Houston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore... hey, if anything happens we're gonna be on our own for the most part.

You see what's left of the reserves handle some water trucks to pass out water if it gets much much worse, but don't count on the Feds for a 100% "save" during a disaster unless you're in one of the three golden cities listed earlier. Learn from Katrina. If things even begin to have that "dire" look, stock up on bottled water and water in buckets for toilet flushing, bathing, etc. Once it gets to the point where you have to go to trucks to get water, you'll be in line with hundreds of thousands of metro Atlantans who most likely will NOT be the most polite after 6 hours in line.

Decent chance it won't get to that level, but stranger things have happened, so you have to be prepared.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by hmcclellan

Too funny.

Simple solution, close the damn at Lanier.....all of Metro's water comes from water the originates (on land anyway) from Georgia. It's ours, and should be......yes that's (insert bad word here) but fact is, you can't have people w/o water to save a damn muscle.....that in theory, has gone thru much worse before an re-populated, survived.

Cobb has just foot the bill for 75% of Cherokee's new resevoir off the Etowah...but won't be operational till next year.....

.....problem is Metro ATL hasn't tapped other lakes (including Allatoona) enough for water support....we have plenty...just not the infrastructure to get the water

[NYLATINQT]

The city of Lawrenceville is now talking about opening up a contaminated well. That's disgusting. I know we have a dire situation but we need to be really careful about what we are going to be drinking over the next several months. I buy bottled water but I cook with tap water. I'll have to start cooking with bottled water too. You never know, years from now some strange diseases may start popping up in Atlanta and it will be a mystery and it'll be because of some strange chemical they put in the water without telling anybody.
Alright, alright, sounds like a sci-fi movie, but you never know!!

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Simple solution, close the damn at Lanier.....all of Metro's water comes from water the originates (on land anyway) from Georgia. It's ours, and should be......yes that's (insert bad word here) but fact is, you can't have people w/o water to save a damn muscle.....that in theory, has gone thru much worse before an re-populated, survived.

I hope you know that the water release goes to fuel nuclear power plants in South Georgia that then recycle the water to send it down to those "mussels."

So, sure, close the dam, and then get ready for loss of power and nuclear meltdown.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

What will happen if Atlanta runs out of water? Isn't your main source of water almost gone? The government wouldn't let a city of millions of people just become a ghost town.

So what do you think will be done if this drought doesn't come to an end?

Atlanta could end up with the same status as Detroit. Run out of water and millions of residents will leave. With them leave goes businesses and money. Delta could have a quick reason to leave, taking thousands with them. All the growth could go to water-plenty areas such as the coastal areas and the Midwest.

[westviewbungalow]

Our city council member came to talk to our neighborhood organization the other week and he mentioned that there were talks about investing $8 million to bring water from Savannah. Whether the talks will turn to reality is the other question.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by westviewbungalow

Our city council member came to talk to our neighborhood organization the other week and he mentioned that there were talks about investing $8 million to bring water from Savannah. Whether the talks will turn to reality is the other question.

Eight million would barely cover the cost of the STUDY to do that. I can't remember which channel it was on, but when someone asked a water expert about pumping water in from Savannah, they said the cost from setup, to pipes, to pumping, etc., would be in the "hundreds of millions" of dollars. Double that (or more) if you actually built a desalting plant to use ocean water instead of pumping existing water.

It would cost much less to pump water down from the Tennessee River area, but they've already said that the Tennessee authorities aren't even luke warm to that idea and even if they were, it would take years to change the regulations they have in place that prevent it currently.