3 Governors to meet on water

Associated Press

The governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama have agreed to meet Dec. 15 in a fresh effort to resolve their long-standing feud over water rights.

Enlarge photo

File The governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama -- Charlie Crist, of Florida, Sonny Perdue, of Georgia and Bob Riley, of Alabama -- have agreed to meet Dec. 15 in a fresh effort to resolve their long-standing feud over water rights.

More Atlanta area news »

• Anatomy of a crime: When all went wrong in West End
• Gwinnett cops capture Virgin Islands fugitive
• Suspect surrenders after standoff
• Area's construction job losses among worst

The meeting in Montgomery, Ala., will be the first face-to-face water talks between the three governors — Sonny Perdue, of Georgia, Charlie Crist, of Florida, and Bob Riley, of Alabama — in two years.

The decades-old, three-state water fight has taken on a new urgency for Georgia after a federal judge in July ruled the state has few legal rights to Lake Lanier, the main water supply for metro Atlanta. The judge gave the states and Congress until 2012 to reach an agreement. Otherwise, Atlanta will see its water supply from Lake Lanier reduced dramatically.

Georgia is also appealing the judge's ruling.