State Rep. Harry Geisinger, R-Roswell, filed a proposal Thursday to settle Georgia’s dispute over its boundary with Tennessee — as long as the Volunteer State would agree to give Georgia a sliver of land on the Tennessee River.

House Resolution 4 essentially seeks to tap the river as a source of drinking water for Georgia, which has struggled to boost its own supply amid record growth and, as of late, drought.

Georgia’s disputed claim to the river dates to 1818, when some say a surveyor flubbed setting the boundary with Tennessee by more than a mile — in essence marking the boundary of Georgia’s northwest corner just south of the river, out-of-reach to the Peach State.

Tennessee officials have rebuffed attempts since then to make any changes.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond spoke to the AJC's Tia Mitchell during a  Politically Georgia forum at The Dogwood at Westside Paper in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Adam Beam/AJC)

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A migrant farmworker harvests Vidalia onions at a farm in Collins, in 2011. A coalition of farmworkers, including one based in Georgia, filed suit last month in federal court arguing that cuts to H-2A wages will trigger a cut in the pay and standard of living of U.S. agricultural workers. (Bita Honarvar/AJC)

Credit: Bita Honarvar