Georgia, Alabama and Florida have at least one more week to reach a water-sharing agreement over the Chattahoochee and Coosa rivers.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced Friday that he had agreed to extend today's deadline for the states to reach an agreement.

Gov. Sonny Perdue requested the extension in a letter to Kempthorne late Thursday, saying he believes discussions can be completed by March 1.

In a statement, Perdue said, "I am encouraged by the progress that we have made, and I believe that a short extension will allow us the time to continue working to find a solution. This was an aggressive timeline, and Georgia remains committed to these negotiations."

Kempthorne and the governors of the three states had set today's deadline at a meeting in Washington on Nov. 1. He has tried to broker a deal that would divide the water through the current record-setting drought and possibly beyond.

In a statement, Kempthorne said, "I believe the three states have made real progress toward reaching agreement. Therefore, I have agreed to extend the time for our discussions. I remain committed to seeing a resolution to these longstanding issues, and I know the three governors remain committed as well."

The states are battling over Lake Lanier, the largest federal reservoir on the Chattahoochee River that provides water to more than 3 million metro Atlantans.

During droughts, the reservoir also augments the water flowing downstream, past an Alabama nuclear power plant and into Florida's Apalachicola River and Bay.

Georgia and Alabama also are fighting over the water in Lake Allatoona, where about 800,000 metro Atlantans get their water. The lake is on the Etowah River, which augments the flows into the Coosa River as it crosses into Alabama.