ATLANTA — From the shriveled cotton fields of northern Alabama to the browned lawns of suburban Atlanta, the Southeast is wilting under one of the most severe droughts in its history.
In Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida, there has been less rain than at any time since records began in 1894. Farmers, who face the brunt of the drought, are harvesting parched fields of damaged corn, peanuts, maize and soybeans. Cattle producers are selling their stock because they cannot afford to buy feed. Tobacco hanging in barns is not curing because it is too dry.
As the drought intensifies, the water shortage is hitting urban and suburban populations, too.
Hydropower plants are raising rates, watering bans are being imposed, and almost everyone in this rapidly developing region - from suburban gardeners to diehard footballers - is being called on to exercise self-restraint.
Even the seemingly sacrosanct is not exempt: No, Georgia Tech's athletic directors may not water their football field with city water. No, homeowners cannot water their prized St. Augustine lawns. And Stone Mountain State Park has now stopped using 38 gallons of water a minute to create artificialsnow for its 32,000-square-foot "Coca-Cola Snow Mountain" in time for Christmas.
In Monteagle, Tenn., the town's water is just days from running out, and officials are exploring mobile filtration and treatment units to produce drinking water. In Alexander City, Ala., water is so low in Lake Martin, the town's only water supply, that pumps are shutting down and engineers are floating a barge to install pumps deeper into the River Tallapoosa.
"This is unheard of," said Eugene Mahan, superintendent of water treatment for the system. "Now we're really in a hustle, we're really in a rush to pump water."
A total ban on outdoor watering has been in effect across the northern region of Georgia for more than a week.
Such a ban is unprecedented in Georgia, but officials fear more cuts will be needed. At a drought summit in Atlanta last week, officials said the outdoor watering ban could be in effect until summer 2008.
Already, the cost to the Southeast's economy is expected to be in the billions of dollars, said Warren Kriesel, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Georgia. That loss, he said, will be mitigated somewhat by federal crop insurance payments.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/07/2007