Businesses get pointers on how to stay afloat during lingering drought

Published 10:41 pm Friday, January 11, 2008

THOMASVILLE — As the state dried up last year, so did business for landscapers in the area.

Thursday, landscapers and others in the state’s $3 billion horticulture industry heard pointers on how to keep afloat against the background of another year in which experts predict low precipitation.

Stony Creek Landscaping employee Byron Rhodes said that people in south Georgia have been watching developments in metro Atlanta and wondering whether tighter residential watering restrictions will also be implemented here.

“Many people in our area have friends in North Georgia, plus what you see on the news, I think a lot of people are wanting to conserve water,” said Rhodes, who was one of 13 people attending the meeting hosted by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agency.

Rhodes said that irrigation system sales had been good in the area until last year, when there was a noticeable decline.

On Oct. 23, 2007, Gov. Sonny Perdue ordered the state’s Environmental Protection Division to reduce surface and groundwater withdrawals by 10 percent from the previous year in 61 North Georgia counties. The order exempted agricultural use.

The revised permit restrictions went effect Nov. 1. Perdue signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 85 counties due to the drought.

“A lot of people are seeing what’s going on in Atlanta and are thinking, maybe I need to save that water,” Rhodes said. “I guess with the water shortage that’s affected North Georgia … they’re afraid to spend the money on irrigation systems. I hope we have a little more rain.”

Kerry Harrison, an extension irrigation specialist, told audience members that landscapers can offer additional services that will benefit customers and help make up for lost revenue.

Metro areas in North Georgia have enacted requirements that water customers with lawn irrigation systems must have water audits performed to ensure efficiency, he said. Those requirements likely will work their way south.

In addition to audits, landscapers can make sure customers are not over watering and cut back on watering during the winter months when little water is needed, Harrison said. The savings customers realize from limiting or eliminating use on lawns in the winter alone could pay the cost of service contracts, he said.

Landscapers also could offer annual servicing to ensure optimum efficiency, Harrison said during an interview following his presentation.

“Mechanics do it with cars getting those air conditioners working,” he said. “You know it’s going to be hot every year. It’s going to be dry at some point every year too.

“The lawn care industry has suffered because of the drought.”



Reporter Alan Mauldin can be reached by calling (229) 226-2400, ext. 226.