Water management

With three poultry processing plants, Hall County is the largest primary poultry processing center in the state, and a cutback in the availability of water presents a significant challenge to the industry.

Mike Giles, executive vice president of the federation, the trade association for the poultry industry, said water conservation has been a top priority for the industry for 20 years.

He said unlike many water intensive industries, the Hall County plants return more pre-treated water to the wastewater system than they take from the Gainesville water system. This is due to the use of well water to supplement the public water.

"Even without the well water, the amount of water returned to the system would be over 95 percent," Giles said.

In poultry processing, water is used for a number of functions, including conditioning and cleaning the chickens, adding and removing heat from the product in process, cleaning plant surfaces and removing waste materials.