Lessons From Atlanta’s Water and Gas Shortages
[photo by Jon Gos]
Atlanta is the poster child for shortages within the U.S. lately. The national news has been paying a bit less attention to the severe drought conditions here to focus on our recent fuel shortage. When the water crisis first broke, it felt like I couldn’t have a conversation that didn’t turn to watering restrictions - on what days we were allowed to water our gardens, that shameful neighbor who ran his sprinklers for over an hour, or the pros and cons of taking navy showers.
Then hurricane Ike hit, cutting off the supply of boutique fuel the EPA requires in this city, and conversations took a sudden turn around here.
Instead of talk about water, it was all about gas. It seemed like everyone had a friend who had run out while trying to find an open pump, and stations that did have any were limiting the amount that a single person could put into the tank.
It sounds like tough times for Atlanta, right? It sort of has been. My thirsty flowers out back are dying, because we’re only allowed to water at certain days and times, and to be honest, I’m sick of wondering if the station a friend told me has fuel will still have it by the time I get there.
What’s harder to focus on are the good things coming out of these crises. Folks who would never have thought about conserving before are clamoring to use less.
Conserving Water
Atlanta is a hugely sprawled city surrounded by suburbs on all sides. Those big suburban lawns take a lot of water to stay alive. It’s great to see wealthy residents turning to well water for their yards and swimming pools rather than taxing the municipal water supply.
Of course, most folks around here can’t afford to have a well put in (nor do we have swimming pools). Georgia.gov has a bunch of water-saving tips, prompted by the drought. My favorite is probably the shower bucket. I’m keeping a large container garden alive right now just with the water I collect from the shower. We’ve seen an increase in rain barrel sales, and more folks are installing water-saving devices like faucet aerators and low-flow shower heads.
An unexpected side effect of the watering restrictions is that more people are growing some of their own food, because edibles are exempt from the restrictions. When I hit up a local nursery recently, the woman helping me pick drought-resistant plants for my container garden also recommended that I plant herbs and veggies in the pots with my flowers, so I could water them more. I was already planning to pick up some fall veggies like collards and cabbage, but I ended up with a lot more than that! Now there are chives, lavender, and rosemary growing alongside my decorative plants.
Conserving Fuel
Many Atlantans live far from the downtown areas where they work and face long commutes every single day. I know folks who drive as much as 3 hours round trip each day, just to and from work! Local businesses are trying to help employees use less fuel by offering new perks, like teleworking or shortened work weeks.
Folks are learning to drive less.MARTA ridership is also on the up, and locals are learning that taking the train or bus is far less stressful than fighting that legendary Atlanta traffic. You also see a lot more people carpooling and combining their errands in an effort to avoid the pump.
It’s heartening to see people changing their habits and using less. What sorts of changes have you been making to reduce your water and gas consumption?
