In June of 2010, Governor Sonny Perdue signed the Georgia Water Stewardship Act, forcing utility companies to produce detailed audits of their water systems and work towards increasing water conservation efficiency.
According to The Augusta Chronicle, Columbia County Water Utility is losing 552 million gallons per year, approximately 9.9 percent of the company's total output. In Augusta, Georgia, a city using a larger and older water system, 2.1 billion gallons went unaccounted for in 2010, about 15 percent of its production.
"Technically, it’s called 'non-revenue water,'" said Margaret Doss, Columbia County's water department environmental compliance manager, as reported by the news source. "You look at what you make, and what you bill for, and the difference is what nobody paid for.”
With the southern United States in the midst of a historic drought, water conservation has become an increasingly important issue as lake levels throughout the state have dropped. Based on the U.S. Drought Monitor's most recent statistics, 73.27 percent of Georgia is dealing with extreme drought conditions.
The Environmental Protection Agency says leaks account for an average of 10,000 gallons of water loss in a home per year, and 10 percent of residences have leaks wasting 90 gallons or more a day.
