Welcome to the forum thread for "Are Current Water Policies Leaving Us High and Dry?," the Justice Talking show for the week of February 11 - 17, 2008.

An unprecedented drought throughout the nation's Southeast has forced some of the region's largest cities to declare water emergencies. Western states have been dealing with similar water shortages for a much longer time. But what can policy-makers do when increasing populations, development and global warming place undue strains on an area's water supply, especially when current law is antiquated, complicated and varies from state to state? Tune in to this week's Justice Talking for a look at whether current water policies ought to be flushed down the drain.

Please post your comments on this Justice Talking issue using this thread.

Thanks for your participation!

Judy Jarvis
Outreach Coordinator

As a Western water lawyer I know there are many things that can be done to prevent water shortages. The first step is always to make residents aware of the value and potential scarcity of safe drinking water. Even in the West, we have been terribly lax in developing gray water systems to lessen the use of drinking quality water. It is true that most Western states today use gray water (recycled or treated water) for golf courses, recreational water projects and fountains. However, most Americans still feel entitled to drinking quality water for every water use in their homes and yards. This is simply not sustainable even in the usually water rich states like Georgia. 

One of my current graduate classes (I am in a graduate program in Georgia) just had  a discussion today about statewide water-planning.  Georgia is only now in the process of developing a statewide comprehensive water plan, and only a handful of other states have them thus far.  To (badly) paraphrase something we read today: before we can figure out how much water we can use, we have to figure out how much we have.  A lot of regions don't even know the extent of their water resources, let alone the amount needed to be left in a system to maintain biodiversity and certain ecological systems.  This sort of knowledge is vital to any future short- or long-term planning that might be done. 

On a personal note, I think that individual responsibility is a major component of dealing with current drought conditions.  If you want a nice-looking yard/garden, buy native plants that are drought tolerant.  Don't wash your car every weekend.  I think every person should have a right to safe and plentiful water for drinking and cooking, but I don't think that golf courses, swimming pools, and sparkling-clean cars are personal rights -- they are privileges that should not come at the expense of others.  I also agree with Lana's comment on gray-water systems.  There are a lot of alternative methods of reclaiming water that could be explored.  On-line retailers sell rainwater-collection systems that hook up to your gutters; you can use these for outdoor watering.  Porous pavements allow rainwater to percolate into the ground where it can recharge aquifers, instead of gushing off into stormwater drains. 

In addition to finding enough water to meet human demand, we have to also remember that there is a responsibility to maintain the ecosystem functions of the natural environment.  There is a practical consideration behind this, as many of the commercially valuable species we rely on (for food, especially), require a certain inflow of freshwater into coastal estuaries.  This issue is a big concern for the government in Florida, as many of the shellfish in Apalachicola Bay can be adversely affected by low flows in the Chattahoochee River.