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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 18, 2016
Jessica Rose, LEED GA
Communications Officer
Facilities Management
According to the National Weather Service, from March through August 2016, Atlanta received 16.59 inches of rain — about 8.5 inches less than the 30-year average for the same six-month period. (northgeorgiawater.org/current-water-stats/drought-status/)
Summary Sentence:
In an effort to conserve water and help reduce the impact of the severe drought conditions in North Georgia, Facilities Management’s Landscape Services has proactively stopped all noncritical irrigation on campus.Â
Full Summary:
In an effort to conserve water and help reduce the impact of the severe drought conditions in North Georgia, Facilities Management’s Landscape Services has proactively stopped all noncritical irrigation on campus.
Morning view from the Student CenterIn an effort to conserve water and help reduce the impact of the severe drought conditions in North Georgia, Facilities Management’s Landscape Services has proactively stopped all noncritical irrigation on campus.
In addition, water to the Kessler Campanile and other water features on campus has been shut off due to the recent Level 2 Drought Response issued by Governor Nathan Deal.
Earlier this month, Landscape Services began limiting irrigation to at-risk areas including newly seeded locations, such as Tech Green, where roots are still being established. In addition, reseeded fescue lawns and a limited number of fall annual flowerbeds will continue to receive irrigation water. In all cases, Tech will follow the restricted watering schedules based on the plants’ minimum watering needs.
It is estimated that these restrictive irrigation measures on campus will reduce water usage by approximately 90 percent, which will save an estimated 4.2 million gallons of water a month.
"We want to be responsible stewards of this precious resource,” explained Assistant Vice President of Facilities Operations and Maintenance, Mark Demyanek. “There are areas in and near metro Atlanta where every drop counts. Georgia Tech is doing our part to use available water responsibly."
Conserving water is something Georgia Tech has been doing for years. Much of the water used for campus irrigation — an average of 35 percent — consists of stormwater runoff and condensate that has been collected and stored in the 28 cisterns on campus. Together, these cisterns can hold up to 2.25 million gallons of water. In addition to irrigation, cistern water is also used for flushing toilets.
“But with the drought, even our cisterns are running low; it is time to take action,” says Demyanek.
We all can take action both on campus and at home to help save water:
For more information on Tech’s landscaping practices, visit the Facilities Management website at facilities.gatech.edu/landscaping.
