Speaking as a citizen of Georgia, the water problem is lack of leadership, not lack of rain. Sure, being in the middle of a drought is certainly going to cause water issues. But the lack of water management (as alluded to by Saletan) is a thousand times worse.

The management issue is both a long and short term problem. In the long term, no plans have been made to ensure that there has been enough water to sustain the growth in the Atlanta metro area, which isn't all Sonny Purdue's fault. His Democratic predecessors certainly had a hand in bringing about this situation.

However, his lack of leadership in the short term is utterly amazing. Only this month has Purdue requested that North Georgia reduce water consumption by 10%. The only real action Purdue has taken is to sue the Army Corps of Engineers to stop sending water to Florida and Alabama.

At one point, there were even plans to make snow on top of Stone Mountain (see this​ link). The utter insanity of even having snow in Georgia in October is mind boggling. That it was to occur during the middle of a serious drought is almost unbelievable. Even today, it seems that the water restrictions are mostly voluntary. For instance, it is no trouble to find an open car wash willing to take your business and waste more water.