Water: Georgia must find a river to the future

Gambling is illegal in Georgia, but we placed a big bet on a lawsuit — and lost.

In this case, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson’s 97-page ruling on Lake Lanier delivered a loud wake-up call to our region and, we’d argue, the entire state.

Wake-up calls are one thing; calls to action are another, and the Atlanta region has specialized in the latter. We clawed our way to world class by being willing to act quickly and build for the future.

That means we need to think even harder about water in this region — how we can capture more of it and use it even more efficiently. Economists and hydrologists alike work with supply and demand, so let’s start there.

As a key tactic in our water strategy, we should quickly review plans for new reservoirs that would let us better capture and utilize limited water supplies. A half-dozen planned reservoirs are included, for example, in a water supply and conservation draft plan published in December by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.

Few may relish the prospect of flooding hundreds of acres of land to store water, but if Atlanta and Georgia are to grow and thrive going forward, we need to be even more proactive about providing for future needs. If new reservoirs can help us capture more water and reduce demand growth on Lake Lanier, we must make quick, but deliberate, decisions about building them.

Budget woes have sidelined progress on reservoirs, which can take the better part of a decade to authorize and create. The July 17 court decision makes plain that we need to redouble efforts to somehow find funding for such work during the next session of the General Assembly.

In these tight fiscal times, we might also do well to look at privatizing such developments. That’s a radical thought, but private companies do provide water services elsewhere in the United States. New Jersey-based American Water says it serves 15 million people in 32 states from Florida to Washington state, including Georgia.

Every drop gained from new reservoirs will help, but it’s true, as the judge dryly noted, that “neither the corps nor the court can make more water.” And, given that the Chattahoochee River, even in good years, is a pretty meager resource for a region of our size, that leaves the rest of us in the stewardship business, conserving where we can and using every drop of H2O wisely.

We can save lots of water by doing simple things like fixing pipe leaks large and small, installing low-flow toilets in homes and offices and turning off lawn sprinklers. This can reduce demand up to 13 percent by 2035, according to the water planning district.

There’s an economic interest in conservation for all of us, too. More than 99 percent of the Metro Water District’s population pays more as we use more. Using 7,000 gallons of water a month here results in an average bill of $67.49 for water and sewer service, according to a 2008 survey. That’s pretty high, compared to an estimated $39.08 a month for 2009 use of 8,500 gallons in Phoenix.

Saving water unfortunately won’t supplant Lake Lanier. The Atlanta region needs continued access to this water source for 3.5 million people. Our hopes there now reside in gaining an act of Congress and, perhaps, a negotiated agreement with Florida and Alabama.

Gov. Sonny Perdue astutely insists that he remains open to negotiating a water solution. Given the court’s ruling, reaching a deal may be a long shot now, but still we must keep trying. An agreement would go a long way toward keeping the Southeastern states as prosperous as possible, both now and in coming post-recession years.

A negotiated settlement may also make passage of favorable legislation easier in Congress. As Judge Magnuson pointed out repeatedly in his ruling, Congress must authorize today’s level of use of Lake Lanier as a source of drinking water. So, leaders are right to step up lobbying efforts to, as Perdue puts it, recognize modern-day uses for reservoirs such as Buford Dam.

The governor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week that “we are not alone” in facing a problem of laws lagging uses.

He hopes that states with similar issues of reconciling modern-day water demand with decades-old rules and operating manuals will join Georgia in seeking a national resolution to this challenge.

Yes, dry faucets may be three years off. Nevertheless, that specter should provide a powerful motivator toward a comprehensive water solution for our region and state. Not acting decisively would be even more costly, if not catastrophic.

We’re a big region hard by a small river. We must keep making the best use of what we have now and keep working to guarantee better access to water. Our future depends on it.

Andre Jackson, for the Editorial Board

In coming weeks and months, we will 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. Send comments to atlantaforward@ajc.com.