Three-year statewide drought ends
Thanks to one of the wettest springs in Georgia’s history, the drought that has gripped the state for three years has ended.

March through May was the second wettest spring out of the past 115 in Georgia, according to state climatologist David Stooksbury, who is also a faculty member in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The vast majority of the state has been climatological drought-free since March. The exceptions have been the Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell basins. Conditions in these basins have continued to improve over the past few months.

Proper drought management requires a period of recharge of the hydrologic systems after the end of the climatological drought.

Soil moisture and stream flows across the state were normal to much above normal for the middle of June.

With the end of the drought, the entire state has returned to the non-drought outdoor watering schedule. This means that odd number addresses may use outdoor water on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Even number addresses may use outdoor water on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Steam plant shuts down coal-fired boiler
As part of its ongoing effort to control utility costs and manage expenses as efficiently as possible, the Physical Plant will modify the operation of its steam plant over the summer by shutting down its coal-fired steam boiler until Sept. 30.

The measure should save the university at least $100,000 and offers the added benefit of helping the environment: summer is the annual time period when ozone readings are the highest.

Natural gas pricing has dropped to historically low levels, making the use of natural gas a viable alternative to coal this summer, according to Ken Crowe, the Physical Plant’s director of energy services. The Physical Plant has made an advance purchase of the natural gas that will be required to operate the steam plant over the summer.

The Physical Plant is working closely with UGA’s Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program and the Faculty of Engineering Outreach Service to determine the best long-term alternative to replace the steam production currently provided by the coal-fired boiler.

Gymnast named female athlete of the year
Courtney Kupets, a UGA gymnast and two-time Honda Award winner, has been awarded the 33rd annual Honda-Broderick Cup, designating her as the 2009 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

The announcement was made June 22 by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic achievement but also team contributions, scholastics and community involvement.

The first UGA athlete to be honored as Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, Kupets is also only the second gymnast to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup.

Kupets was also named the 2008-2009 Roy F. Kramer Southeastern Conference Female Athlete of the Year on June 23 by a vote of the league’s athletics directors.

As a senior, Kupets led UGA to its fifth straight NCAA championship title, and she won the all-around, bars, beam and floor individual competitions. She became the first gymnast ever to win a national title in all four events.

Kupets is a National Honor Society member, was chosen as ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-American and is a recipient of NCAA and SEC postgraduate scholarships. She is also a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and a recipient of the Richard B. Russell Student Leadership Award. She won UGA’s Marilyn Vincent Award as the senior female student-athlete with the highest GPA.