CONSERVE WATER GEORGIA
Conservation Legislation
2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year for water conservation initiatives with the federal government and the Georgia General Assembly.
At the federal level, the Alliance for Water Efficiency has an active “legislative watch” that summarizes the many federal bills that include conservation and efficiency.
Here at home, Governor Perdue created a Water Contingency Task Force to develop contingencies for water consumption as a result of the Lake Lanier water ruling limiting access for water supply. The Task Force evaluated many water conserving activities and recommended that conservation efforts form the basis for short and long term planning. The Task Force also recommended that enhanced conservation should be implemented immediately. This included legislative recommendations.
Click here for the the Task Force “Findings and Recommendations.”
Legislation being considered by the 2010 Georgia General Assembly
NOTE: this list is only a summary of introduced bills related to water conservation. This list is not comprehensive, and should not be considered an endorsement of any kind. For up-to-date information on these bills, click here.
Senate Bill 311 – Water Savings and Conservation Act
This bill addresses the issue of water loss and unaccounted water within a permitted water utility’s production and distribution system. The bill will require the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources to inspect certain infrastructure relating to removing surface water; to provide certain alternatives to governmental entities required to repair or replace certain inadequate infrastructure; to authorize the Department of Natural Resources to promulgate rules and regulations related to water loss control.
House Bill 158 – This bill addresses allocation of water and waste-water services for tenants living in multi-family housing units. The bill also addresses charging tenants for usage and providing for metering and separate charging of water to tenants in new construction.
SB 370 and HB 1094 – Water Stewardship Act of 2010
These identical bills were introduced by Governor Perdue, and are sponsored by Senator Ross Tolleson and Representative Lynn Smith. They include many of the recommendations of the Water Contingency Task Force.
SB 370 and HB 1094 state that all agencies addressing Georgia’s water management have until August 1, 2010 to examine their programs, policies and rules and submit a report identifying opportunities to provide incentives for voluntary water conservation measures (for local water systems) and to enhance the state’s water supply. Public water systems serving at least 3,300 individuals will have to conduct standardized annual water loss audits (by January 1, 2012 for systems serving at least 10,000 individuals and by January 1, 2013 for all the rest). Rules for conducting and reporting these audits will be promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources.
Additionally, all new multi-tenant residential, commercial and industrial buildings permitted after July 1, 2012, must have submetering installed and new construction must have toilets not to exceed 1.28 gallons per flush, showers that average more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, lavatory faucets of no more than 1.5 gallons per minute and kitchen faucets not to exceed 2 gallons per minute. Local governments, responsible for enforcement, could grant certain, limited exemptions to these low-flow requirements. Lastly, a Joint Committee on Water Supply, composed of 12 members to be selected by the Lt. Governor, Speaker and Governor, is established to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the state’s strategic needs for additional water supply, including the identification of creative financing options.