Water wars land in Washington's lap

Register now, it's free!
Log In | Customer Care

Water wars land in Washington's lap

By BOB KEMPER, JAMES SALZER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/01/07

Washington -- Gov. Sonny Perdue and his counterparts from Alabama and Florida met with Bush administration officials today about the drought-induced tri-state water crisis.

[Post comments below.]

• Photos: A shallow Lake Lanier can be hazardous

DEALING WITH THE DROUGHT:
• Can I water? Here are the rules
• 10 tips to save water
• Map: Heavy demands on our water

RELATED:

• More on coping with the drought

Meanwhile, officials from the White House, Interior Department and Corps of Engineers met with the governors to work out a temporary plan for how the three states will share the lake's dwindling waters.

A week ago Perdue, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist were publicly sparring over rights to Lanier, which provides most of metro Atlanta's drinking water. The water also supports downstream communities and industry, including a large nuclear power plant in southeast Alabama. And it is the lifeblood of Apalachicola Bay's seafood industry and federally protected mussel species.

Georgia has been pressing federal officials to temporarily lift requirements of the Endangered Species Act and reduce the amount of water flowing out of the lake. Alabama and Florida want the corps to keep sending more than a billion gallons a day out of Lanier.

Georgia depicts the dispute as a choice between people and mussels. That angers Riley and Crist, who both say Georgia is ignoring Lanier's crucial role in their economies.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions of Alabama, sent a letter to President Bush decrying Georgia's claims.

"If you were to grant this request [from Georgia], you would not be 'siding with people' instead of mussels and sturgeons," the Republican senators wrote. "You would be valuing the well-being of the people in Georgia over the citizens of Alabama and Florida.

"Contrary to recent statements from Georgia officials," they wrote, "the water in Lake Lanier is not Georgia's water."

But the historic drought itself could force the corps to reduce the amount of water it's sending out of Lanier. The whole system -- from Lanier, down the Chattahoochee River and on to the Gulf of Mexico -- is headed to all-time lows. State officials predict metro Atlanta's water supply will be in jeopardy as soon as January if current daily water releases from Lanier and the drought continue.

The corps estimates Lanier has 120 days of readily available drinking water left. The state puts the count at only 80 days. Pumping out water from the bottom of the lake could extend supplies an additional five to six months, but it would be difficult and expensive to retrieve and treat that water.

"But even if we get relief from the Endangered Species requirements, and we reduce the flow, Florida and Alabama are going to sue us. I base that on a historical analysis" of the 17-year tri-state feud, Payne said earlier this week.

Georgia environmentalists say conservation is the real issue. At a Wednesday news conference at the Georgia Capitol, members of the Georgia Water Coalition, a group of 150 environmental and civic organizations, said that by using a few water-saving measures, metro Atlantans could save nearly 85 million gallons day, almost enough to supply DeKalb County.

Every metro Atlantan uses about 70 gallons of water per day. That could be cut to about 45 gallons through in-home conservation efforts, the coalition said.

The coalition also said government officials haven't taken the lead on getting 1 million older homes in metro Atlanta retrofitted with plumbing fixtures that use less water; that not enough has been done to fix leaky pipes; and that too many area homes are currently on septic tanks, which don't return water to rivers as promptly as sewer systems.

"During a drought, every single drop matters," Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, told reporters. "Wise planning for metro Atlanta's growth could have lessened the current crisis."

Perdue and state environmental chief Carol Couch contend the drought and the corps are the culprits, not development and consumption. The governor this week said conservation measures -- including the 10 percent cut he recently mandated -- are largely symbolic.

— Staff writer Stacy Shelton contributed to this article.

Related Subjects

Expand this list

Comments

By Danny

Nov 16, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

Judy, look at Florida's lake levels and you will see that we are indeed hurting for water. Lake Okeechobee is nearly gone - and the Everglades, a precious ecological treasure, is drying up as well. Tampa is having to spend millions and millions of dollars to try and get a desal plant up and running as soon as possible so that salt can be taken out of seawater to use as drinking water. The cost of such a venture really outweighs the benefits, as it takes a lot of processing to get the water safe enough to drink, and the amount of drinking water it produces will be consumed as soon as it is made safe.

By Judy

Nov 2, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this

We are embarrassed to that you live here also.

If you look at the lake levels in AL and FL you will see that they are not hurting for water at all. They are talking about economic impact because of a power plant and boating. Lake Lanier has the biggest inland marina in the world on it and it is practically dry but GA is not complaining of environmental impact. We just want water to drink. This is ALL political and don't believe for a minute that it is anything else. You only have to look at the amount of water flowing down the Chattahoochee to know that no amount of conserving is going to prevent us from running out of water.

I am a huge believer in cleaning up the environment, but you are never going to get anyone to take you seriously if you use junk science and political rhetoric to convince people to change their ways. Unfortunately the "Global Warming" has taken the place of the "Next Ice Age" from a few years ago and people stop believing anything.

By Mollie

Nov 2, 2007 2:37 PM | Link to this

I am so embarrassed to live in Georgia. Look around the world and our bubba of a governor is calling THIS an emergency? Please! Water is precious - and we, in Georgia, act as if its ours to use and abuse.

I have to admit, since I moved to Georgia I have become very lax in my own water conservation. Yes - I confess to the occassional 10 minute shower. May not sound like much of an indulgence to the average Georgian, but that is a lot of water! Literally, down the drain!

We need our Governor to stop acting like a big fat baby and set an example by taking responsibility for this mess. How dare we ask for federal help and go stomping all over AL and FL! (Did I mention how embarressed I am?)

By Bob in Florida

Nov 2, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

It's the Al Gore jinx... global warming speeches during a blizzard... now, no rain in the Southeast when Gore's predicting more hurricanes! Al, please shutup.

By bob

Nov 2, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

Look at a map. Where is Atlanta going to get saltwater from? Even if we were at the ocean what is the point of letting fresh water flow into the ocean and then taking the salt out of it. I really can't believe how stupid people are.

By Jefferson Lee

Nov 2, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

a great paper i am a fan of the davinci and the shakesphere thankyou!

By Richard Wilkinson

Nov 2, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

When you take salt out of sea water what do they do with it? They dump it back in the sea to produce pre-salted oysters and a destroyed valuable marine ecosystem that so many people depend on.

By John N Kammer

Nov 2, 2007 10:43 AM | Link to this

John

Aren't there any fresh water wells in the Atlanta area?

By Andrew

Nov 2, 2007 12:37 AM | Link to this

This is a man made problem, not a drought problem.

Greed and politics have stopped Georgia from building other reservoirs and controlling growth.

I hope we run out of water so all of the idiots might learn a lesson.

By Robert

Nov 1, 2007 8:45 PM | Link to this

For anyone who posted that Desalination is not the best answer, why not? Expensive? yes, but as an investment toward a guarantee of water resource. Also, there will be jobs for people who need them as the government set up to pull us out of the depression using the TVA.
Uses energy? Sure, but we need to also address this problem as well. Our reliance on foreign oil has been a burden to our country and angered much of the world with our demand for more and more. I would love to see us discover alternative energy and make it practical and afforable. (P.S. The sun will be burning brightly in our skies for quite a while, and it is free. We just need to harness the energy efficiently.)

I don't see any downside to desalination except that we have waited too long, and seem to be concerned that it will be a challenge we are afraid to meet, but considering we have already been to the moon.....

[1 2 3 4 5 6] next