Atlanta Forward / Another View: Lawmakers sent right message on water war

By The Anniston [Ala.] Star

It’s time the feuding governors of Alabama, Georgia and Florida pocket their bruised pride and settle the tri-state water war — with as much speed as is politically possible.

That’s not our message, though this newspaper’s page agrees wholeheartedly with that stance. It’s also not the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ message.

That’s the latest message from the halls of Congress.

Kudos to the delegations of the aforementioned states, who met last month in Washington and seemed to have run out of patience over the states’ — and the governors’ — long-running dispute.

It would have been easy for those in D.C. to succumb to home-state boosterism and waste the chance to send a unified, strong statement.

Instead, they stuck together. They’re sending a letter to the three governors, telling them it’s past time to reach a palatable solution. They’ve put the onus where it belongs — on the three Republicans whose water-war disagreements are national news. For now, this isn’t Congress’ fight.

For myriad reasons, it’s easy to cast aspersions on Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, given his actions involving Lake Lanier and the court rulings flowing through the dispute. But regardless of fault, the three governors must heed the advice that their delegations strongly issued recently.

Schedule a meeting and end the water war. Now.