That's one way to do it
In frank statement to begin her closing remarks, Mayor Heidi Davison called on OnlineAthens to remove a poll which stated ...
Should using 'gray' water be included in the local watering ban?
Yes, we don't want to help disguise the cheaters
No, re-using household water is just common sense
It was a bizarre way to kick off her remarks, but it's also fairly accurate since the poll is somewhat misleading, particularly since gray water (stupidly) is banned by the state, meaning the local government has little power to do anything unless the Georgia General Assembly does something to address this.
I mean re-using household water is common sense, but it ain't the local government's fault you can't use it.
Should using 'gray' water be included in the local watering ban?
Yes, we don't want to help disguise the cheaters
No, re-using household water is just common sense
It was a bizarre way to kick off her remarks, but it's also fairly accurate since the poll is somewhat misleading, particularly since gray water (stupidly) is banned by the state, meaning the local government has little power to do anything unless the Georgia General Assembly does something to address this.
I mean re-using household water is common sense, but it ain't the local government's fault you can't use it.
posted by Jmac at 7:56 PM
16 Comments:
So when my Mom used dishwater to water the outside plants the other night, that was illegal? Really? But letting it go down the drain wasn't? I understand your point about it being the state's fault and not local government's fault, but jeez, that just seems dumb. I mean, sure, you could just get around the outdoor ban by running indoor water and taking it outside without a rule against it, but I think that's where the overall mandatory reductions (like with Step F) come into play.
Yep, it was illegal. From the State's POV it's for three reasons:
1) makes it difficult to enforce outdoor water ban
2) public health issue: who knows what chemicals etc are in the water being used outdoors
3) using it to water means it doesn't go down the sink and get treated and used for drinking water by folks downstream
also a public health issue, that we have germs (gasp!) that could pose a public health hazard, if we just pour our used wash water, even from dishes, onto the ground and don't treat it before it enters the groundwater.
aquariusrizing
here's the next ordinance coming out of the Peoples Republic Of Athens......
"The capture of stormwater through the use of rain barrels or other attempts to impede the flow of stormwater shall be strictly prohibited"
(don't believe me....see if Colordao, or any other western state with a history of dealing with drought, permits the retention of stormwater)
Yes, yes you must pay the Stormwater Utility(tm) even during times of drought. But no, no you may not capture that stormwater for your own use.
Yes, yes you must pay the Stormwater Utility(tm) even during times of drought. But no, no you may not capture that stormwater for your own use.
Class, are we paying attention?
Stormwater does not meet the category of gray water, and as noted in the meeting of last night, the capture of rainwater and subsequent usage is perfectly legal.
The public health issue relates, as I understand it, more to chemicals (soap suds, bleach in water, etc) being pored onto the ground than "germs".
Anon 7:04 poster is an idiot. The People's Republic of Athens. Wow, that's an original one! As JMAC correctly notes, use of collected rainwater is perfectly legal and, in fact, encouraged. Anon is simply whining in the same way right-wingers whine about "liberals" w/out any facts. But I guess when we live in a Bushian world in which the admin doesn't believe in "engaging w/ the reality based community" as one of them put it a while ago, that's what we can expect.
btw, the stormwater utility is collected even when there is no rain because it goes to pay for long-term capital improvements in things like stormwater detention, drains etc. So, unless we never ever have any more rain ever here in ACC we are going to need these things and, therefore, need to collect the fee. ANd, btw, the reason for having to collect the fee is that the feds have mandated it so that ACC can continue to provide citizens water as part of its permitting process (ACC can only provide water via fed govt permitting, courtesy of the Clean Water Act), so quit pissing and moaning about how awful ACC govt is and direct your angst at the feds, where it should be.
First This-
"Anon is simply whining in the same way right-wingers whine about "liberals" w/out any facts."
Then this-
".... we live in a Bushian world in which the admin doesn't believe in "engaging w/ the reality based community" as one of them put it a while ago, that's what we can expect."
And I'm sure you have all the facts for the proper classification of the "the reality based community".
"The [White House] aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.''"
NY Times article by Ron Suskund, 10/17/04. Check it out for yourself.
Oh. So you're not whining then. Right?
Go Team.
No, I'm not whining --I'm pointing out that the person who talked about the People's Rep of Athens is a) unoriginal and b) completely wrong about the stormwater fee, but that I would expect b) from someone who starts off w/ a). Given that s/he starts off w/ a) it's a reasonable assumption that s/he adheres to the Bushies' philosophy of not letting facts get in the way of a good argument. But I suspect that you'll only say that's whining :-)
HA! I'll have you know I voted for Kerry in '04 and Harry Brown in '00.
I may be an idiot, but it's not because I predict that it won't be long before the ACC gub'nment will soon ban the collection of stormwater.
Touché.
I guess.
"but it's not because I predict that it won't be long before the ACC gub'nment will soon ban the collection of stormwater"
This is the ridiculous part of your post, as the ACC gubmnt has explicitly been telling people that they should, in fact, collect as much rainwater as possible to use for watering. My disappointment in your approach is that it reeks of the "govt by definition always does the wrong thing" and/ or "this govt in particular always does the wrong thing", which I just don't buy. The fact that ACC is being held up as the model for other places, and the fact that we have reduced water usage by 28% when others like Fulton --w/ its whopping 0.7% reduction-- have done nothing belies such statements.
Is there some analysis anywhere as to why Fulton Co. couldn't reduce their consumption of water?
Not so much analysis but here is the AJC piece listing who's done what in the Atlanta area(http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2007/10/13/wateruse_1013.html). I think the most plausible reason for so little reduction is a lack of political will to face reality.
Not sure why the link isn't showing in full, so I've chopped it up into bits --you'll have to reassemble to read it. Sorry!
www.ajc.com/services/content/
metro/stories/2007/10/13/
wateruse_1013.html
Post a Comment
<< Home