When Macon gets a big downpour of rain, you might ask “Where does the water go?”

We have an answer for you.

The Macon Water Authority’s water treatment director Gary McCoy says that it can go a bunch of places.

“A lot of the water, it creeks and goes into the river. And we have a 580-acre lake that holds 5 billion gallons and some of it goes in there,” McCoy said. “A lot of the water goes into the storm drain and it actually goes to the wastewater facility. So there a lot of different areas that the water flows in the event of a rain storm.”

The Macon Water Authority pumps the water from the Ocmulgee River into the Javors Lucas Lake, where it begins the treatment process at the Frank Amerson Water Treatment Plant. Typically, the rainwater replenishes the groundwater supply, McCoy says.

Regardless of where the water ends up, it plays a role in the community.

“Rain plays a vital part in everything. A lot of the rain goes towards vegetation life, ” McCoy said. “Everyone gets a part of that rain and use it to their advantage.”

So the next time the rain pours down on you, just remember it will come back around in many forms of your everyday life.