Students Taking Conservation Action

We are students organizing to promote responsible water usage as well as to raise awareness of the current water shortage facing the Metro Atlanta area and the Southeast region. Our goal as students is to continue working toward greater sustainability and conservation efforts on campus.

We come from many different backgrounds on campus, and from many different organizations. We could always use more voices within our group as we pursue these goals together. If you would like to join us, please come attend our meetings.

For more information, please contact either Reid Samuel, Nick Wellkamp, or Sarang Shah.

Problem

State and federal officials estimate that Lake Lanier, metro Atlanta's primary source of water, has less than three months' supply of water left. If draught conditions continue and water demand remains at its current level, approximately 3 million people will soon be unable to take showers, cook, or flush their toilets and part of the Chattahoochee River will run dry!

Georgia Tech has more than 30 residence complexes and about 9,300 students living on campus. It is also ranked 2nd among Atlanta's top water users. Nearly 26,000 gallons of water are pumped across campus and back every minute just to meet heating and cooling needs. The institute has taken several measures to conserve water, including draining all fountains and using condensation from buildings to water the landscape. The Facilities Department is also conducting a water usage audit so that they may find and repair leaky pipes.

It is now up to YOU to conserve as much water as possible, before it's too late! This is a very real threat that requires immediate action. We must work together in order to prevent the impending crisis!

5 easy ways to conserve

• Take shorter showers and bathe less often. Also turn the water off when you shampoo, shave, brush your teeth, etc.
• Use hand sanitizer after trips to the toilet. It's more effective at killing germs than washing with soap and water.
• Limit use of washing machines for laundry and dishes. Most clothes can be worn multiple times between washes. Many dishes can be cleaned with a quick rinse. Only wash full loads.
• Avoid using water for cooking. Bake, grill, stir-fry or microwave rather than boiling food.
• Place a water-filled plastic container in your toilet tank. You'll save water with every flush, but remember to only flush when necessary.

Facts about water usage

• Conventional toilets use 5-7 gallons per flush.
• Typical showers use 7-10 gallons per minute.
• Filling a standard bathtub requires 36-50 gallons of water.
• Conventional washing machines consume 60 gallons of water for a full load of laundry.
• Dishwashers use up to 15 gallons per load.
• The average American uses about 100 gallons of water per day! That's almost 8 times as much as typical citizens of developing countries.