Water crisis

I’ve followed the crisis the drought brought to the Southeastern green industry closely. It’s been heart breaking and exasperating to watch unfold.

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By the time you read this, I’m not sure how much of the independent garden industry will be left standing. The culprit is punitive watering bans that cut the legs out from under garden retailers and, consequently, their suppliers.

Arid states like California, Arizona and Texas are accustomed to less rain than even this drought the Southeast has experienced. What makes Georgia and North Carolina different?

Mainly, these states are not used to drought conditions. Planning for such an unlikely event was put on the back burner. Lake Lanier, which supplies most of the drinking water for metropolitan Atlanta, is a vast reservoir. I’ve been out on Lake Lanier a few times while visiting my aunt and uncle, who live nearby. Its size is daunting. It’s unthinkable that such an enormous lake could go dry.

Yet that’s pretty close to what happened. The water receded, leaving marinas on dry land. The exposed earth was a vivid red clay, making Lake Lanier look like an open wound. That was enough to provoke a total ban on all outdoor watering.

Only after half the green industry was unemployed by early December 2007 did the state government step in and allow limited watering, which was ignored by many counties, including DeKalb where Atlanta is located. Georgia Green Industry Association responded by advocated its heart out for the industry, but so much damage had occurred by that point, that GGIA was forced to focus on giving the industry a lifeline in the form watering allowances and limiting the fallout of businesses shutting down.

Here’s my question to the rest of the industry. If this could happen in water-rich Georgia and North Carolina, why not where you are?

Time to embrace politics

Politics turn off a lot of people. Only a few relish the infighting that comes with political wrangling. And in a presidential election year, those who shy from politics are practically in hiding by now.

But, to my way of thinking, politics is an unavoidable requirement for modern garden retailers. Our water reservoir systems are outdated. Growing populations around cities need new water sources.

But few politicians want to propose expensive projects, even if they’re vital to a community’s future. The only way to give those politicians the stomach is for business owners like you to lobby for them.

Just as important to a garden center as state-level politicians and city councils are water boards. Those on the water boards are looking at quotas and water amounts, not how plants are a vital part of protecting a region from drought. Who will educate them about how to wisely manage plants during a crisis other than you? If you don’t approach them until the crisis is at hand, you’re ability to affect change will be limited. Those on the board will view you with cynicism, as just another business giving biased data to them.

If a water rich region like the Southeast was brought to its knees by a drought, then every region of the U.S. is vulnerable. So what are you doing to make sure you survive?

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- Carol Miller

May 2008