Water Management

Keeping the lights on requires significant water resources, so we have a vested interest in using water wisely. Georgia Power consumes only 10 percent of the water it withdraws from Georgia waterways to make electricity. Essentially, the company returns about 90 percent of the water it withdraws to make electricity back to Georgia's rivers. The 10 percent that is lost through evaporation averages out to less than 25 gallons of water per day for each household, or roughly the equivalent amount of water a family uses to get ready for the day (shower, brush teeth, etc.). The company works hard to conserve water usage in plant operations by recycling water for multiple purposes and implementing aggressive leak-detection programs and other modifications to save every ounce of water possible.

Water Research Center
As the population of Georgia's growing communities increases, competing demands for water are growing. The state-of-the-art Water Research Center (WRC) at Georgia Power's Plant Bowen will provide a test site for technologies that may improve water efficiency by addressing withdrawals and consumption and improving water quality used during the power generation process.

The center is a collaboration between Georgia Power and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and will be operated by Southern Research Institute (SRI).

The WRC will include seven research focus areas: moisture recovery, cooling tower and advanced cooling systems, zero liquid discharge options, low volume wastewater treatment, solid waste landfill water management, carbon technology water issues, and water modeling, monitoring and best management practices. Results from research conducted at the WRC will be shared with Georgia Power and other EPRI members. Appropriate technologies can be implemented by utilities worldwide and potentially help solve water issues for our customers.

Lakes and Recreation
Georgia Power is the largest non-government provider of recreation facilities in the state. Our lakes offer swimming, fishing and boating. Nearby areas have picturesque scenery, hiking trails, picnic areas and campgrounds. In addition, Georgia Power leases about 30,000 acres of prime hunting land to the state of Georgia for use as wildlife management areas operated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources. The company also has more than 350 public campsites across the state. More information.

State Water Plan
In 2008, Georgia approved its first State Water Plan. Georgia Power worked diligently with the state Department of Natural Resources and offers to craft the framework for the plan, which will provide a blueprint for the way Georgia manages its water resources in the future. With water supplies already constrained, this will be even more important over the next two decades as the state's population grows by roughly the size of present-day metro Atlanta.

The State Water Plan divides the state into 11 regions, each with an appointed regional water planning council. Assessments will be done to determine the water resources in each region. The councils will then match the resources with their needs and decide what water management tools are required by their regions to meet those needs. Georgia Power continues to support and participate in this process.