Water use dropped during the last decade, and Hall County residents did their part to help.

Water conservation efforts played a large part in the decrease, according to a report released by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, which oversees Hall County and 14 others in the greater Atlanta area.

"Georgia's Water Stewardship Act of 2010 is one of the strongest pieces of water conservation legislation in the United States," said Chick Krautler, director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, which prepared the report. "And through the water conservation measures adopted by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, metro Atlanta has made great strides to become a model region for water conservation in the tri-state area, as well as the entire nation."

Between 2000 and 2009, metro Atlanta added 1 million people but the region's per capita water use declined by 14 percent, according to the report. The drop stems from detection and repair of leaks, retrofits to old toilets and conservation pricing, which charges customers more for using more water.

"Water conservation is at the top of what we do," said Kit Dunlap, president of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce and also a board member of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and the 1071 Coalition, a nonprofit group that focuses on promoting healthy lake levels.

"This report shows what's been accomplished, but this isn't a stopping point," she said. "We need to continue to conserve water and put measures in place to aid that."

The conservation efforts could help Georgia in the
tri-state water wars case, she added.

A three-member federal appeals panel heard arguments Wednesday morning from Georgia, Florida,
Alabama and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over whether Lake Lanier can be used as a main source of drinking water for metro Atlanta.

"This is one of the reasons for conservation, though the main reason is to save water for our future," Dunlap said. "You don't see measures like these in Florida or in large metro areas like we have in Atlanta, so for these court cases, we've got a good story to tell."

The planning district is starting "I'm In," a new conservation campaign to track pledges from individuals, schools, businesses and governments across the 15 counties.

The campaign has pulled in 46 pledges, including Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who set a goal for Atlanta to become one of the top 10 sustainable cities in the nation.

"The biggest things that happened since the 2007 drought that was so severe were the outdoor watering schedules," said Brian Wiley, Gainesville's environmental monitoring coordinator. "People really changed their behavioral habits and the way they use water, and we're still seeing the effects from that."

The city's public utilities department has promoted water conservation over the years through leak assessments, plumbing retrofits and community programs.

"School groups, civic clubs and churches allow us to come in and talk about water efficiency, and we have a character called Captain Conservation who talks to younger students about being conservation crusaders," Wiley said.

The city department will host several programs this month to promote conservation, including find-a-leak workshops on March 16 and March 24 to teach residents how to search their homes after a water bill spike. Public utilities employees are also teaming up with Brenau University to host a tri-state water wars panel discussion on March 22 with local experts.

"People are keeping their old habits in check, which can be a double-edged sword for public utilities workers because we need water for the future but also want to keep growing for our jobs," Wiley said.

"It's a balancing act that a lot of utilities have to go through now, and it's interesting to see how these practices change over time."