The Downside to Conservation

Since summer 2007, Metro Atlanta has been highly conscious of our water consumption.  Conservation efforts such as outdoor watering restrictions, vouchers for low-flow toilets and shower heads, and a media public-awareness blitz have been effective.  We have cut our water consumption.  Some county systems have seen usage down by as much as 20% in 2008. 

So, why haven't user's bills dropped by that much?

Infrastructure has not shrunk by 20%.  The staff required to read meters and to maintain the water system certainly hasn't shrunk- in fact, it's growing as the city's 80+ year old infrastructure is approaching failure.  New construction has also all-but stopped, so these systems have also lost new connection revenues.  These already struggling water systems have had to increase water and sewerage rates, implement surcharges, and beef up their collection and shut-off protocols in order to offset these huge potential losses in revenue.

Since 2005, Gwinett residents have been paying 5% more for water every year, plus about 16% more for sewerage since 2007.

Cobb saw a 20% rate increase last year.  That water department saw an 18 percent decline in water consumption last year, which equals about $25 million in reduced revenue, said Kathy Nguyen, Cobb County’s water efficiency manager.

“You’re starting to see a move toward pricing the true cost of water, and its value,” Nguyen said. “You have to price it at infrastructure maintenance, repair, growth.”

Cherokee, Dekalb, and Fulton also saw huge drops in consumption and had to raise rates to compensate for those potential losses of revenue from water sales. 

What does all this mean for a resident or business owner in Metro Atlanta?

Atlanta is seeing furloughs, hiring freezes, and layoffs in even their police and fire departments as they try to deal with their hugely expensive infrastructure problems.

As conservation awareness increases and water use drops- prices will continue to go up.  As our economy worsens, and collection and shut offs tighten up, the poor will likely suffer first.  If this trend continues, though- as water approaches, as the Cobb manager put it, it's "true value and cost", more and more people will be forced to choose between paying their water bills and providing other essentials in their households, and more governments will be forced to choose, like Atlanta, between managing the water system and other essential services, and how much of that burden their already strapped populous can bear at once.  The problem has the potential to spiral out of control.

Only those who are able to control and manage their own access to water will not be affected.