With gas shortages in pockets of the Southeast (particularly north Georgia) and grim economic news from Wall Street and Washington, many poeple may not have heard or may have forgotten that another sales tax holiday is rapidly approaching for Georgia. And for the first time products that help conserve water are being included in the list of tax free items. During the first weekend of October (12:01 a.m. Thursday, October 2 -12:00 a.m. Sunday, October 5, 2008), things such as toilet, faucets, and other items with the EPA WaterSense label are tax free.

In a press release from the Governor’s Office, Georgia EPD Director Dr. Carol Couch commented, “WaterSense is an opportunity for Georgians to make an important choice to help the environment. The rewards are many, but the most immediate one is the savings you see on your water bill.”

The release goes on to state that if every household in Georgia installed high-efficiency faucets or faucet aerators, it would save more than five million gallons a day—that’s saving enough water to fill every tank in Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest, in about 37 hours.

With the many challenges facing utitlities, are you making an effort to promote the holiday in your community? Any partnerships with local stores? Are you combining this with any other outreach efforts? Or for those utitilies in areas hardest hit by the drought, does balancing conservation measures with declining revenue discourage you from even getting involved?