Paper plates and plastic utensils might be in Fayette County’s future at not just school cafeterias but also restaurants, in a bid to further conserve water, county officials said last week.

The Fayette County Commission may also change its rules to allow for water service to be completely cut off for those who violate the outdoor watering ban or other water use restrictions. The county is also looking at hiking fines from the current range of $10-$100 per offense.

Meanwhile the county has also changed the hours of its marshal’s department to provide 24-hour coverage to potentially catch violators of the current total outdoor watering ban.

While Fayette has a 200-day supply of water in storage, the county will have to take further usage reductions to comply with an edict from Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Perdue has asked all counties to cut usage by another 10 percent from last year’s month-by-month usage from November through March, Water System Director Tony Parrott told the Fayette County Commission Thursday night.

That would amount to a reduction in use of about 1.3 million gallons a day.

The locking of water meters of watering ban violators has already being employed in other metro Atlanta areas as a deterrent and enforcement measure according to various news reports.

The county, its cities and the board of education have put together a subcommittee that will be working on sharing water conservation ideas with citizens. Those suggestions will be posted on the county’s website at fayettecountyga.gov and perhaps also on the local access cable channel as well as here at TheCitizen.com.

Krakeel said he has been pleased with the initial response of support for the business community from not only the top water users but also during a recent presentation he made to the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

Fayette also has been at the forefront of the recent switch to the outdoor watering ban, saving 28 percent from the previous water usage levels.

County Commission Chairman Jack Smith said if he recalled correctly the numbers shared at a recent regional meeting, Fayette was tops in the area, with the next closest water system recording an 18 percent savings.

The county already has enacted several water-saving measures such as the complete shutoff of all irrigation systems on county property, Krakeel said. All auto washing of county vehicles is on hold unless the emergency vehicles become so dirty as to obstruct their reflective lettering, which could create a safety hazard, he added.

It’s also possible the county may get more water savings by installing low-use water fixtures, Krakeel said.

Krakeel said the county department heads have been told all county employees are expected to set a good example in their water usage for the rest of the community.

The county has also shut off water meters used for irrigation only such as subdivision entrances, and there may be more opportunities to reap savings from similar situations, Krakeel said.

After the meeting, Krakeel said of the citizens contacted by the marshal’s department for potential outdoor watering violations, many of the residences were on well-served water systems, which exempts them from the watering restrictions.

login to post comments