Agricultural Water Issues Facing the Green Industry

Proceedings of the 1997 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 20-22, 1997, Athens, Georgia.Water used by agriculture for crop and livestock production and the Green Industry accounts for approximately one-third of the state's consumptive usage. The profitable expansion of Georgia's largest industry depends on adequate water supplies. Because of previous legislative exemptions, the agricultural community has not been required to document total water consumption. Water management strategies for future use cannot be effective unless these data are available. Additionally, most agricultural operations have been exempted from certain water quality standards such as the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act. This discussion will address the most recently legislative and regulatory actions that affect the agricultural community.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of the University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors