On November 2, 2007 several news stations reported that Orme, Tennessee had run out of water. This, in spite of restricting water in the evening for months and as of August, severely restricting use to three hours a day.
Tennessee is not the only area to feel the dry squeeze of drought. Atlanta, Georgia is one of the large cities in the United States. That metropolis is facing a serious water shortage (which we’ll read more about below), as are other communities in the dry southeast (how odd – it used to be just the dry southwest).
Creeks are drying up; as a result, even firefighters are bearing the brunt of the water shortage.
This is not just a United States problem, but something impacting many, many places and has been going on for some time. In fact, other communities in the world are facing or have faced the same scenario. Water had to be transported into Wallabaddah in Wales because that community had run out of water. Then there is the tiny community of Builyan in Queensland. The natives in that town have shared that a simple toilet which doesn’t shut off can cause a panic. Why? Because it dribbles away the daily ration for two people. They expect the problem to spread. In fact, in some areas near Builyan, estimates are only five months of water remain.
Just weeks ago, the Ramona Water Municipal District , Oregon ran out of water. Other towns have experienced this also – Beulah, Colorado, for example.
The river banks in Florida are crumbling they are so dry. The Lanier is shrinking at an bizarre pace in Georgia, now putting it at a 20-year low. In fact, authorities expect the Lanier to run dry by July 31, 2008. The overall drought in Georgia is so severe that the University of Georgia asked the homecoming game-goers this week not to flush toilets at the stadium – attendants would do that for the 93,000 people in attendance when the toilets got full.
Leaders across the southeast in the United States are quickly talking to see what can be done regarding the severe drought that clutches the southeast’s neck with a visor grip.
What does all this mean to us? Well, do you have a water supply stored? If not, I suggest you do it … like, soon! As can be seen by communities experiencing water shortage all through the world, drought can have severe impacts. And you never know when the trickle from your tap might be your last!
