STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. --- The idea sounded ambitious even before the drought: Stone Mountain Park hoped to transform its sunny lawn into a winter wonderland with a 400-foot snow-covered slope and snowy playground.

But as drought tightened its grip over the region last year, "Snow Mountain" became a casualty after officials scrapped the plan amid worries it would send the wrong message about conservation.

The northeast Atlanta park is now considering whether to revive the wintry idea. But this time park officials say they've come up with a plan to improve its efficiency while cutting the park's water use by 20 percent.

"Georgians need recreation, and our challenge is to find a way to deliver our products in the most environmentally sensitive way possible," said Gerald Rakestraw, the park's vice president and general manager. "And we think we've found it."

The new plan calls for a filtration system to suck water from the park's lake, rather than the DeKalb County water system. After the water is turned to snow, drains would catch the water and funnel it back to the lake.

If approved, the $5 million project would retain as much as 90 percent of the water it uses, said Mr. Rakestraw. "It has the potential to be one of the best projects delivered to Georgians," said Mr. Rakestraw, who said park officials could make a decision to go forward within a month.

Park officials say the plan fits in with a more comprehensive effort to save water. The park has installed waterless urinals, reduced outdoor watering, plugged leaky pipelines and built a "porous" parking lot to reduce runoff.

The efforts have helped the park save 25 million gallons of water this year, or about 40 percent. In the long run, Mr. Rakestraw said, the park expects to cut water use by at least 20 percent annually.

The latest version is nearly identical to last year's plan. It features three football fields of deep snow, an expansive play area and a daunting slope with 10 tubing lanes. The park projects it could draw an additional 100,000 visitors each year.