Senators introduced two bills Wednesday regulating interbasin transfers from rivers.

Senate Bill 128 proposes new requirements before taking water from one Georgia river basin and discharging the used water into another river basin. Senate Bill 132 would exempt water taken from the Tennessee River basin in the Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain area from transfer regulations.

The Tennessee River runs just north of the Georgia state line. Though Georgia cannot draw water from it, some of it's northernmost creeks drain into the Tennessee.

There was talk during the 2010 Georgia governor's race about whether to try moving the Georgia-Tennessee boundary north. The state line was placed too far south because of miscalculations. Had it been placed properly, Georgia, now starved for water, would have access to the Tennessee River. Nothing came of the talk.

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Constituent Services Director Vesna Kurspahic helps a student with his service academy application at U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick’s office in Cumming, Ga., on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. Kurspahic is constituent services director for Congressman Rich McCormick. During the government shutdown, she is handling a caseload of roughly 250 requests without receiving any salary. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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