Water Issue

Lilies are the one bulb that must have water all year long.

When I moved to the State of Georgia no one ever mentioned to me that water (or lack of it) would or could become an issue. The funny thing about this water problem, the lakes in this state that are controlled by Georgia Power have no water problems. The only lakes that are at risk are the ones that the Corp of Engineers manage. Our water issue I think goes deeper than "lack of rain." Here in the south people are used to having five inches of rain each month, so if there is less than that, it is drought conditions. I have lived here for seven years now, and I can't begin to tell you how many times I have heard it spoken, it isn't going to matter how much it rains, it isn't going to solve our drought problem. Which always makes me wonder, if rain isn't going to help, what is? Are we all going to have to spit out a inch of water a month or disconnect our plumbing. What do they suggest will help. I don't think that Atlanta has ever had to depend on a snow pack for their water source. It has always been determined by the rainfall. So when we get an inch of rain and they say it won't help, it is a bit discouraging.

What the Army Corp of Engineers means when they say an inch of rain isn't going to help, they mean, since we are dumping out twelve inches of water a week over the dam, on down the river into Alabama and Florida, an inch of rain isn't going to help much. Well of course not. Think of it like your own bank account. If you deposit $100. and spend $1,200. you are soon going to be in deep dodo. Or in our case, the bottom of the lake down there where the mud is located. Sonny Perdue cancelled Bass Fishing tournaments this year because of the shallowness of the lakes, Pikes Garden Supply in Ackworth just declared bankruptcy because they have had to toss more than 1,000 flats of flowers and plants that they could not sell. But who is going to buy plants when they are going to be fined if they water. The Bartow county water company increased our water rates by double, and I read last night that they are going to capitalize again on our pain, by increasing our rates again in Dec. This is a windfall for them, because you and I know they will NEVER decrease those rates even if it should rain for 40 days and nights.

I have lately been thinking of my alternate plan. I cannot live in a place that will not let me water my flowers. It would be like telling a football tailgate party they can't have any beer, or telling a electric guitar player that he can't use his amplifier. I am pretty sure you get the idea of how painful this has been for me. It is both mental and physical anguish that only someone who loves their garden as I do will understand.