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TODAY'S ISSUE
Communities can benefit by harvesting natural rainwater
By William Wagner, P.E.
Lawrenceville
Special to GwinnettForum.com

MAY 2, 2003 -- In light of the severe drought conditions facing many parts of the country I am surprised that more grass roots organizations, such as County Extension offices, the Soil & Water Conservation Service, and local governments, are not promoting the many benefits derived from "free" water. That's collecting rainwater from one's roof into a rain barrel and using this as a source for watering flowerbeds, gardens, and even lawns.

Although water is an inexpensive commodity on one hand, it is also a cherished but limiting natural resource, which is currently faced with diminishing and sometimes contaminated reserves. The United States is one of the few countries in the world today where residents are allowed to pour treated drinking water on their lawns and gardens.

Rain barrels are a great step at grass roots involvement, geared at conserving our drinking water supply. If each household were to collect 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of rainwater per year, the cumulative affect for conserving water would be significant. By linking rain barrels in series with each other, the potential for rainwater collection and storage increases dramatically.

Some parts of the country already understand these benefits and have been promoting rain barrels for several years now. However, the vast majority of the population has not been educated on this issue.

Rainwater is oxygenated, un-chlorinated, and warmer than tap water, which makes it preferable for watering plants, gardens, lawns, and for adding moisture to compost. In addition, for every gallon of tap water used, whether it's for washing, cooking, or watering, an additional sewer charge is applied even though that gallon has not been discharged into the local sewer system. Lawn and garden watering account for 40 per cent of total household water use in the summer.

. . .cut ones water costs,
… lighten the load on the local municipal sewer system,
… protect nearby rivers and streams,
… keep water away from your foundation, and
… enhance your yard watering options even during restrictions.
… In addition, rain barrels can be used as a means of alleviating severe erosion or localized flooding problems caused by high intensity stormwater runoff around one's home.
.
Even if there is no interest in using the collected water for gardening purposes, the rooftop runoff can be collected temporarily during the storm, and then left to trickle out at a reduced volume and velocity at a later time, thereby mitigating the localized erosion and or flooding problem

How much rainwater can you collect? One (1) inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof yields 623 gallons of water. Much of the rain runs off before it has an opportunity to soak in. In many cases, a slight rain of a little more than one tenth of an inch is sufficient to fill a typical rain barrel.

Many municipalities are offering assistance and subsidies in promoting this type of conservation to the local residents. For instance Austin, Tex. has an active program and would make an excellent model for any community.

The cumulative impact from concerted community participation could easily approach many billions of gallons of drinking water saved per year. Please contact me at wwagner@csagroup.com to explore opportunities on how we may initiate a water conservation program within our county.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Boo birds are out, wanting nothing less than blood
By Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com

MAY 2, 2003 -- Watch out. The vultures see red meat, and are aiming to tear into it.

After years of steadily operating perhaps the best and certainly the largest school system in Georgia, suddenly Gwinnett's schools are embroiled in a controversy that appears virtually meaningless.

Somehow Gwinnett school officials unreported the handling of disciplinary situations. In fact, they so egregiously under-reported the statistics that Gwinnett stood out as much as a sore thumb, looking not just good, but extraordinary in this arena.

Why this happened we may never really find out. We suspect that an employee either did not understand the reporting procedure, or else unfortunately was trying to make Gwinnett look good. If the second is the case, it backfired, for Gwinnett looked so good it causes questions to be raised.

Perhaps another factor enters here. Perhaps with all the positive publicity Gwinnett schools have earned over the years, perhaps someone was simply waiting for Gwinnett to stump its toe, on no matter what. Seeing the chance, when this came to light, they pounced on it, blowing the matter far out of proportion. We suspect there is more truth in this than may even be uncovered.

All that aside, now the Gwinnett District Attorney, Danny Porter, has jumped into the midst the fray. Not only that, he has called for a "criminal" investigation of this incident. Criminal? While no one will question the legitimacy of the district attorney seeking out wrongdoing in all sectors of life, to see some "criminal" aspect of this administrative affair of reporting of school statistics, is close to incomprehension.

What makes this entire controversy even more questionable are the very statistics themselves. While the reports have indicated that Gwinnett may have unreported incidents in 85 per cent of the cases, what would have been the situation had all the cases been reported correctly?

Amazingly, we find that if indeed the cases were reported in what appears to be the correct fashion, Gwinnett's disciplinary level would fall still far below the norm, nearer the lower side of the state average. (Gwinnett rate would then be 24.9 cases per 100 students, compared to the Georgia level of 54.3 cases for 100 students.) This in itself causes one to scratch his head even more, since even in the worst case scenario, Gwinnett's discipline problems are "less than average."

Yet the boo-birds are out for vengeance. If you looked at the current critics of the underreporting, they are many of the same people who oppose Gateway testing and other positions of the school board. They want nothing less than blood. You can bet that they don't see this as a simple administrative error, but see instead possible action for higher tribunals, administrative spankings and even recall of public officials.

Alvin Wilbanks, considered by some as perhaps the best superintendent in the state, is now the subject of their taunts, with them wanting him fired.

Can you believe it? These critics have no truck with the solid performance of the Gwinnett schools. They see nothing but incompetence and intrigue in every aspect of the Gwinnett schools. Yes, they indeed, want blood.

Perhaps this is the best time of the year for such charges to come forward. As we enter May, school graduations approaches, each of our high schools will award diplomas and announce many graduates will have won scholarships, an indication of how well Gwinnett has prepared its students for the future.

We need to remember these positive aspects as we hear of this movement to tearing down Gwinnett's well-earned reputation as one of the best school systems in Georgia. But watch out for the vultures around us!

FEEDBACK
5/2: Wants over-the-counter emergency contraception

Editor, the Forum:

My family and I all support reproductive rights. We favor making emergency contraception medication an over-the-counter product.

As always, we also favor a women's right to have a safe, legal abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy, and do not support any efforts to limit that right.

-- Clyde L. and Mary Ann Allen, Snellville

5/2: Amendment would not prevent people acting stupid

Editor, the Forum:

Apparently my letter about the editorial term "cakewalk" did NOT include my comment about the U.S. Constitution's Amendment Zero. (I bet you thought that the Amendments started with Number One.)

Amendment Zero reads as follows: "No government organization, either Federal, State, County, or City, shall or can pass a law that will prevent any person or group from sounding or acting stupid. This does NOT, however, exempt that person or group from the responsibility for, or for the consequences of, that stupidity to, or from, themselves or others. This only makes invalid any law that might in advance try to prevent that stupidity."

-- Allan Hytowitz, Norcross

NEWS
Rainbow Village golf tournament set for May 20

The eighth annual Rainbow Village golf tournament will be held Tuesday, May 20 at Chateau Elan Legends Course. Registration and a putting contest begin at 10 a.m. There is a lunch from Chick-Fil-A, followed by a shotgun start at noon.
Dinner is by Carrabba's Italian Grill at 5:30 p.m.

Registration fee is $250per player (four or five person team scramble. Registration deadline is May 10. Phone 770 497-2361 for information and registration.

The mission of Rainbow Village is to provide families in domestic or economic crisis a healing environment to rebuild their lives through a community based transitional housing program that promotes self-sufficiency. Located in the cities of Norcross and Duluth, Rainbow Village offers homeless families with children hope for the future. Rainbow Village is a 501-C-3 non-profit corporation.

Jones Bridge Park to get shoreline renewal project

Park enthusiasts who love Jones Bridge Park for its playground, soccer fields, fishing and beautiful views of the Chattahoochee River should know that the riverbank at the popular park is getting a little "TLC" this spring and summer. Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation contracted out the $910,855 shoreline restoration project recently to stabilize the river shoreline through bank armament and bank re-vegetation techniques.

The majority of the park will have restricted access until the renovation project is complete. The playground is closed. The soccer fields will be closed mid-May through mid-September for turf remediation

Phil Hoskins, director of the Department of Community Services, says: "Jones Bridge Park is particularly popular during the warm weather months. We needed to do the construction during this time because it's also the most favorable weather for finishing the project,".

The renovation area consists of approximately 700 feet of shoreline along the Chattahoochee River. The construction project includes replacement of two pedestrian bridges, new asphalt and concrete and soft surface walkways, fencing and improved handicap access to the river with a wooden boardwalk/ramp. Renovation is expected to wrap up this fall.