Perdue water agenda flows along smoothly

By Dan Chapman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Sonny Perdue’s water agenda experienced smooth sailing through the General Assembly on Wednesday as his prized water conservation bill neared the end of its journey into law with his signature.

The House is expected Thursday to give final approval to the Georgia Water Stewardship Act of 2010, which would curtail outdoor watering and require builders and apartment building owners to more efficiently manage water.

Perdue, enmeshed in difficult water-sharing talks with Alabama and Florida over the sharing of the Chattahoochee and Coosa rivers, has said the bill will show that Georgia is serious about water conservation.

Planning for North Georgia’s future water needs also advanced Wednesday with unanimous passage by the Senate Natural Resources Committee of legislation to study the possible sharing of water across the region during an emergency.

By September 2011, the 15 counties in the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District must have contingency plans in case of terrorist attack or, more plausible, if a federal judge strictly curtails Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier.

“We have to assume the possibility that we won’t have Lake Lanier or assume we will have some substantial reduction in water withdrawals from Lake Lanier,” said Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody), who introduced the bill.

Environmentalists, heartened by language stricken from the bill that would have kept the study secret, remain largely opposed to the bill.