Katrina in Slow Motion: Georgia has a Republican Congressional delegation, Republican governor, Republican state legislature.
New York Times:
For more than five months, the lake that provides drinking water to almost five million people here has been draining away in a withering drought. Sandy beaches have expanded into flats of orange mud. Tree stumps not seen in half a century have resurfaced. Scientists have warned of impending disaster.
And life has, for the most part, gone on just as before. . .
In late September, with Lake Lanier forecast to dip into the dregs of "dead storage" in less than four months, the state imposed a ban on outdoor water use. Gov. Sonny Perdue declared October "Take a Shorter Shower Month."
Georgia's "leaders":
- Two Republican Senators: Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isaakson
- Seven Republican Representatives, two Bush Dog Democrats, four Democrats
- Republican governor Sonny Perdue
- Republican State Senate: 33-23
- Republican State House: 101-79
The agriculture commissioner is a longtime Democrat, Tommy Irvin. He called alarm on the drought in May:
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin is concerned about the effect of the drought on all of the state's crops, especially those already damaged and/or held up by the recent freeze.
"We're in a critical situation with some of our crops in some areas, if those fields do not get some good soaking rain this week," Irvin said.
"Without rain, cotton and peanut planting will be held up, and vegetables and tobacco that have been replanted will not produce. Where farmers are irrigating, the costs are rising and the farm ponds are starting to dry up.
"Some farmers are starting to cut their freeze- and drought-damaged wheat to feed their animals. It's too late to replant corn in the southeast. And in the south and in the southeast farming regions, it may be too dry to try planting sorghum. Last year's minimal hay crop all across the state was already causing problems with cattle and dairy farmers. This year hay and other feed stocks have suffered damage from the freeze and drought all across the state.
"Pecan trees that survived the freeze could start dropping nuts if they don’t get rain," said Irvin.
More from the NYT:
The response to the worst drought on record in the Southeast has unfolded in ultra-slow motion. All summer, more than a year after the drought began, fountains blithely sprayed, football fields were watered, prisoners got two showers a day and Coca-Cola’s bottling plants chugged along at full strength. In early October, on an 81-degree day, an outdoor theme park began to manufacture what was intended to be a 1.2-million gallon mountain of snow.
In late September, with Lake Lanier forecast to dip into the dregs of "dead storage" in less than four months, the state imposed a ban on outdoor water use. Gov. Sonny Perdue declared October "Take a Shorter Shower Month."
On Saturday, he declared a state of emergency for more than half the state and asked for federal assistance, though the state has not yet restricted indoor water use or cut back on major commercial and industrial users, a step that could cause a significant loss of jobs.
These last-minute measures belie a history of inaction in Georgia and across the South when it comes to managing and conserving water, even in the face of rapid growth. Between 1990 and 2000, Georgia's water use increased by 30 percent. But the state has not yet come up with an estimate of how much water is available during periods of normal rainfall, much less a plan to handle the worst-case scenario of dry faucets.
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