Water Treatment Plan Causes Concern Over Water Conservation

Reservoir buffers Berry from drought's effects

A 55-acre reservoir is a huge asset to Berry College during the worst drought in more than a century.

While the Atlanta area fears that the lack of water will show its effects in January, Berry College has found a way to help Rome and other surrounding communities. Thanks to a water treatment plan, water used at the college goes out to the surrounding communities after going through a treatment facility.

Dennis Goshorn, director of Residence Life at Berry College, said the plan is complex.

"We are a rare case here at Berry," he said. "The water we use goes to the water treatment plant, only to be used again by the surrounding communities. So in a weird way us conserving water is hurting others around us."

The Berry College water treatment plant

was built by built by B. M. Hall and Sons of Atlanta in 1927.

Photo courtesy of Berry College

The surplus water has not kept Berry as an institution from being water conservation-savvy. The athletic fields are no longer irrigated, and the Berry College Dining Services department has made many changes to conserve water, Goshorn said.

E-mail alerts

When asked about students and what he thinks they should do about the water shortage, Goshorn referred to e-mails Residence Life has sent out that recommend taking shorter showers and holding off on washing dishes and clothing.

The student perspective does not differ much from what they have been told via e-mail. Courtney Warner, a junior at Berry College, said not a day goes by when "I don't think about the water shortage. I have cut my showers short and wait until I have a full load to wash clothes."

While students are doing all they can to help, Berry's physical location has a lot to do with the success that is seen on the campus. Supplying the campus's water is a reservoir that sits three miles away from the mountain campus. It is this reservoir that calms the worries of many at Berry, Goshorn said.

"We are not in as dire need as the Atlanta area because of the reservoir," he said. "So, without doing so much, we have made significant progress."

Big changes

The water plant at Berry has seen many changes in the nature of this issue. John Swinney, a water plant employee, has seen first hand some of the changes brought by the drought.

"Though the reservoir is down about 10 feet, in my estimations, we are still working our very best for the conservations of water on this campus," Swinney said. "We now filter and refill the reflection pools instead of draining them, and we are hoping that with the colder weather, we will use less water."

The 55 acre reservoir is large enough to provide all of Berry's drinking water.
Photo courtesy of Berry College

{C.L.S.}