AWWA ACE54509

Throughout the summer of 2000, the state of Georgia experienced one of the worst droughts in the state's recorded history. Faced with a potential threat to water supply sources in the metro Atlanta Region, the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources implemented mandatory outdoor water-use restrictions to reduce demand. The implementation of the restrictions and their initial design created significant impacts to the diurnal demand of many of the region's water systems. Several systems experienced extreme hourly demands that exceeded system treatment and pumping capacity, requiring immediate action to be taken to modify the restriction policy. This paper presents an evaluation of operational data and experiences for the major Atlanta Region water supply systems during the implementation of the mandatory outdoor water-use restrictions, and provides recommendations for others to consider when establishing restriction policy. Includes 3 references, tables, figures.