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UGA Issues Water Shortage Update

by Len Neighbors
10/16/2007

Just the text:

October 15, 2007

TO: UGA Students, Faculty and Staff

FROM: Arnett Mace, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Tim Burgess, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration

RE: Water Shortage Update

The University of Georgia continues to partner with the Athens community in addressing what has become an historic drought – the worst recorded here in 100 years. Each of us needs to take personal responsibility for conserving water.

The Bear Creek Reservoir, which supplies water to Clarke, Oconee, Jackson and Barrow counties, is at approximately 13.8 feet below full pool. It stabilized over the past week due to a small precipitation event and additional pumping from the Middle Oconee River. Athens has a precipitation deficit of 15.75 inches for the year. October is historically our driest month, so the situation is not expected to improve in the immediate future and stricter water conservation guidelines may be imposed in early to mid-November.

The university already has taken significant steps to reduce water consumption, such as stopping all outdoor watering from the municipal water supply, accelerating the change of bathroom fixtures in residence halls and resident instruction buildings to low-flow devices, aggressively pursuing identification and repair of any water leaks, shutting down campus fountains and banning pressure washing, reducing operation hours on building chillers, and discontinuing washing campus vehicles (except for refuse trucks due to health concerns). University departments should do all they can to reduce water consumption without compromising standards of cleanliness and public health.

The university’s Task Force on Water Resources will issue a written report in mid-November in which it will make recommendations to further reduce water use in the event of increased county-mandated water restrictions, as well as recommendations regarding sustained water conservation efforts and potential methods for increasing the university’s water supply, both now and in the future.

The Task Force fully recognizes, however, the necessity for implementing further water saving practices immediately, and therefore urges everyone to incorporate the following common sense practices into their daily routines at work and at home:

(1) reduce water usage to the maximum extent feasible in work and research-related activities;

(2) limit showers to two to five minutes and use water only for wetting and rinsing;

(3) do not leave water running while brushing teeth, shaving, soaping hands, or washing dishes;

(4) avoid flushing toilets multiple times;

(5) operate washers and other cleaning appliances with full loads only;

(6) turn off all faucets tightly; and

(7) immediately report any leaks to building administrators, Physical Plant at 706-542-7456, UGA Housing at hsgwkodr@uga.edu, and emergencies after hours (such as broken water mains) to University Police at 706-542-0090.

For additional tips, consult the university’s website at www.uga.edu/aboutUGA/water_tips.html.

We should address rumors you may have heard that the ongoing drought will affect the university’s future academic schedule. These are just rumors. While the university is partnering with the city in addressing the crisis and taking extraordinary measures to conserve water, closing of the university or altering the academic schedule is not viewed as a practical solution to the current level of crisis. The water crisis affects much of Georgia, where most of our students live. Many of our students live in off-campus apartments or housing in the Athens community. It appears that shutting the university would shift the water-usage load, but would not greatly decrease the total amount of water used, while resulting in some very significant academic and economic negatives. If the crisis deepens to an even more extraordinary level, then it might be time for such a discussion. But it is our hope and expectation that conservation measures such as those outlined above will enable us to get through this crisis without such a major disruption.

It is the duty of each member of the university community to become educated about the severity of the situation and consciously conservative in water use. Remember, every drop counts!

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