Georgia Wetlands Offer Cure for Drought

For the last couple of years, the Southeastern U.S. has faced one of the most severe droughts on record. In Georgia, you couldn't water your lawn. You couldn't wash your car in your driveway. The state even talked about shutting down swimming pools this year, and some worried the area would run out of drinking water.

But one community has not had to worry. Nearly two decades ago, Clayton County began building a unique water treatment system that includes wetlands and reservoirs.

"I like to say it's raining everyday in Clayton County because we're putting right now about 10 million gallons back in our water supply," says Mike Thomas, general manager of the Clayton County Water Authority.

Thomas says the reservoirs here are full and have never been in danger of being too low. That's because back in the 1980s, folks realized there wasn't enough water to support the growth, so they decided to build a system of wetlands and reservoirs that would help them save water.

Clayton County Wetlands

Amid the 4,000 acres of wetlands in Jonesboro, Ga., are graded pools used to filter water. The water is pumped in from a treatment plant and flows into these ponds, which are filled with all kinds of thick vegetation, including cattails, native grasses and water lilies.

"You can see right down here where the water's bubbling up," Thomas says, pointing to one of the ponds.

The treated wastewater enters the wetlands and gradually works its way through several pools. Thomas says that gives it plenty of exposure to the plants and animals that help remove any additional pollutants or nutrients.

The water in the ponds looks clear and doesn't smell bad. There have been complaints from neighbors not about the odor but about something else entirely: frogs.

"At night when they really get active, it can really get noisy because there are so many frogs," Thomas says.

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