Water Needed

I've mentioned a little about this but it’s getting worse here in Georgia and in many other parts of the Southeast. I am expecting to see severe emergency rules here very soon:

Exceptional drought, the worst of North Carolina’s classifications, has been declared in 56 of the state’s 100 counties. About 3.25 million people in the state are dealing with mandatory water restrictions, and another 1.5 million are under voluntary restrictions.

The heart of the state is the hardest hit. Greensboro rainfall for the year is 14 inches below normal. Lake James, on the Catawba River, is down 9 feet.

With its water reservoir running out, Siler City demanded a 50 percent reduction in water use by residents and businesses. Two chicken plants in the city, which use up to 800,000 gallons of water each day, told officials they couldn’t operate on 50 percent of that level.

Chatham County came to the rescue, allowing each of the chicken plants to pull 200,000 gallons of untreated water from the county’s nearby reservoir. They use it to clean machinery and to chill and rinse the birds. The plants use trucks to get that water across the county, but at least they don’t have to shut down.

Carol Couch, the director of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, is expected this week to send a letter to Gov. Sonny Perdue outlining options, including severe restrictions on commercial and industrial users in the Atlanta area.

Annual rainfall is 16 inches below normal in Peachtree City. Lake Lanier, the water source for more than 3 million people, is down 11 feet. It has dropped 2 feet since Sept. 1.

Did you notice that they are using "untreated" water to rinse and cool the chickens? That is not to good.