Outdoor Watering For Dummies

One of my neighborhood reporters has passed along a clarification directly from City Hall this morning. John was indeed correct that Governor Purdue put through legislation requiring all local governments to follow uniform outdoor watering restrictions, and that means that Atlanta had to ease up on the strict bans that were in place. Unfortunately, my earlier source had been timed just prior to that passage. Here's the most current information:

• Hand watering is now allowed for 25 minutes per day on an odd-even schedule between midnight and 10 a.m. Odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Even numbered addresses may water Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Hand watering is defined as one person with one garden hose with a spray nozzle that shuts off when it is released. This obviously means no automatic irrigation systems set on timers. Landscape services or workers are not allowed to water in chemicals during the day or when they overseed or plant after 10 a.m. either. It doesn't matter that they are "professionals."
  
• New professionally installed landscaping can be watered up to three days a week from midnight to 10 a.m. only for a period of 10 weeks based on the odd/even schedule.
  
• Anyone wishing to water a new professionally installed landscape must register with the Outdoor Water Use Registration Program. There is only one permit allowed per address per calendar year. The program will be hosted on the Urban Agricultural Council web site at Urban Ag Council. (Link is posted to the right for your convenience.)

Mayor Franklin is extremely unhappy about having to comply with Governor Perdue's legislation, because Atlanta is still seriously short of water, and this area is still in the midst of a long-term drought, while the city is in a population-growth pattern. Purdue's legislation was in response to political pressure from the landscaping industry, which was suffering financially. It was not because there is now more water available. The City may yet request permission to reinstitute the former bans, but askin' ain't gettin'.

In any event, it would probably be a good idea if we all acted responsibly and continued to conserve water.

Soon: The park is not forgotten.

Another One Bites the Dust

Yesterday's storm caused millions in damage across north Georgia, including destruction of many homes and trees. Thankfully, it only cost Memorial Park one beautiful tree, one of those lining the rubber path leading to the playground. (Our neighborhood was without power for much of the day.) I haven't heard from anyone who lost any in their yard.

That's a total of five trees lost from the park this month. The City of Atlanta Parks Department crews recently removed three that had been deemed ill or injured by the Arborist, and another tall pine toppled earlier this month after another storm, it's roots apparently weakened by the ongoing drought. One of the park's regular daily dog-walkers happened to be only a few feet away when it fell!

The thirty or so saplings donated by Trees Atlanta that were planted by MPCA volunteers a few years ago to help replace the many that have been lost in recent years are struggling valiantly against the drought, but they won't be large shade trees in our lifetimes, even those species that are large growth. Hundreds of thousands of big, old trees that Atlanta has always been known for, lost either for development or by accident, cannot be replaced at any price. Ten (or 50) young trees will not provide the shade canopy, the CO2 uptake, erosion control, reduction in ozone and temperature or the aesthetic beauty of one great oak or hickory -- caliper measurement formula notwithstanding.

(The big trees and their extensive root systems are particularly important to the residents of Wesley Drive and Woodward Way, who are subject to massive flooding. Who knows how high the water will be next time? People were kayaking from Riada to Woodley in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.)

Those who blithely throw around the term "tree replacement plan" are missing the point. It's like reconstructive facial surgery after a terribly disfiguring accident: It's very painful, expensive, and takes many years to get acceptable results. Sure, it's eventually a big improvement over the initial damage, but the person is never really like he was before.

Of course, planting new trees is a really good thing. The old ones are going to die someday, and in an "urban forest" like our neighborhood, there's little chance of a tree coming up on its own.