Tri-state water battle: Please, governors, get back to the table

As surely as the Chattahoochee River generally flows south, a pair of clocks continue to tick in the decades-long tri-state battle over water.

Georgia has less than two years to resolve the matter before a federal judge throttles back the Atlanta region’s primary water supply to levels not seen in more than a generation, when our population was smaller by millions. And that’s the long-term, in a sense.

Short-term, we’ve got only until about New Year’s Eve for the sitting governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia to reach a peace treaty in the water wars. For the good of these states and the South in general, they should hop to that task without further delay. Their work plan and goal should be simple — buckle down with the intent of inking a deal before they clean out their respective offices in January.

Gov. Sonny Perdue made an excellent point in an Aug. 2 letter inviting Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley back to the VIP seats of the negotiating table. Perdue wrote that, “While all three of us are nearing the end of our terms, I firmly believe we can still reach an agreement that would take our predecessors years to accomplish.” Given the glacial pace at which progress is often made in either courtrooms or legislative chambers, Perdue is dead-on in his assessment.

Leaving a gift-wrapped proposed settlement on the desks of the next set of governors would be a great head start toward lifting the pall of uncertainty that has clouded Alabama, Florida and Georgia while litigation and posturing has dragged on.

And make no mistake, uncertainty is the enemy of economic progress, or even the status quo, especially during the tough times we’re now living through. During a visit last week with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., spoke about how worry over possible future changes in taxes or regulations has brought business development in the United States all but to a standstill as investors closet cash and settle in to wait for signs of what’s to come.

Uneasiness about the predictability of water supply for human consumption and industry likely has a similar chilling effect on economic development in our chunk of the Southeast.

That alone should be enough to get the three guvs together again in whatever manner necessary, be it by video conference or a retreat at an isolated hunting shack.

Achieving broad agreements on complicated issues involving two water basins is neither simple, easy nor quick. Yet, it is doable.

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said last week that, “There is a deal to be had — we believe that very strongly.”

Although negotiating teams have met and, according to Brantley, made progress, assembling the governors would send a strong message to these deal-makers that now’s the time. As in time to put respective offers on the table and, from there, hash out a workable agreement that the states’ legislatures can tackle early next year. “The times we have been most successful have been immediately following the governors’ meeting,” said Brantley.

Many will be surprised to learn that governors Crist, Perdue and Riley haven’t met in person on the issue since their widely publicized gathering last December that resulted in a group-hug photo op and a promise to make headway in 2010. With about 3.5 months left in this year, they should give their all toward ending this battle in a manner that will benefit each state.

We’d note that an agreement, while significant, would be only the start of bringing full closure to this struggle. In addition to legislative action being needed, remaining legal issues would have to be addressed and more wrangling remains over what’s the optimum mix of conservation or ways to increase water supply. The list goes on.

We can begin to work on all that once our governors reach agreement. The sooner the better — for Georgians, Alabamans and Floridians.

Meanwhile, until our governors set a firm meeting date, the clocks keep ticking.

Andre Jackson, 
for the Editorial Board

Atlanta Forward: We look at major issues Atlanta must address in order to move forward as the economy recovers.

Look for the designation “Atlanta Forward,” which will identify these discussions.