In late June, a decision in the 20-year-old legal battle between Georgia, Florida and Alabama laid to rest any doubt about the operation of Buford Dam for metro Atlanta’s water supply. The 11th Circuit Court’s ruling states clearly that water supply is an original authorized purpose of Lake Lanier — equal to hydropower, navigation and flood control.
The decision directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to use its legal authority and expertise to assess how best to operate the federal dams on the Chattahoochee to meet congressional objectives, while balancing the needs of all users in the basin.
Now that the court has decided that Lake Lanier can be used for water supply and the threat to metro Atlanta’s primary source of water is removed, the important issue before us is this: What is the best way to operate Buford Dam and manage our water resources wisely for the benefit of all residents in the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola basins?
The court’s decision frees the three states to proactively answer this question, together with the corps. Failure to plan cooperatively for our shared water resources could stand in the way of our three states successfully competing in a world that is increasingly connected.
It’s easy to forget how limited our water resources are. We take for granted that we’ll have water when we turn on the taps in our homes, farms and businesses. However, current drought conditions remind us of the importance of wise and efficient use of this precious resource by all parties in the river basin — in the Atlanta region, in Georgia and in our corner of the U.S. that includes Alabama and Florida.
Thankfully, metro Atlanta and Georgia have already benefited from wise water planning. During the past decade, metro Atlanta has become a national leader in water stewardship. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, created by the Georgia General Assembly in 2001, has worked with local governments, water and wastewater utilities and stakeholders to develop comprehensive regional water resources plans. The district mandates 19 conservation measures, including conservation pricing (the more you use, the more you pay); replacement of older, inefficient toilets; and water system leak detection and repair.
These measures are paying off for metro Atlanta. While the region grew by a million people over the past decade, per-capita water use decreased by 14 percent.
At the state level, the General Assembly passed legislation calling for a state water plan in 2008. Since then, regional water councils all over the state have assessed available supplies and identified best practices to use these resources efficiently. In addition, the 2010 Georgia Water Stewardship Act mandates water-efficient fixtures statewide, limits outdoor watering and sets standards for reducing system leaks.
We now have the opportunity to plan as the Southeast region. As one of the fastest-growing parts of the country, our greatest challenges include sharing natural resources, planning the transportation infrastructure that connects us and fostering a globally competitive workforce. Other multistate regions — such as the Northeast and the Great Lakes — are looking for competitive advantages. As long as we’re focused on battling each other, we will fail to compete with these and other regions globally — from Asia to South America. And our failure to address these complex issues across the Southeast will hurt generations to come in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
As southeastern states, we share a common destiny. Our natural systems connect and sustain us in many ways. We should work together to build on our strengths and make the most of our connections to benefit us all. That is why it is time for us to cooperate and collaborate on how best to share our precious water resources.
Boyd Austin is chairman of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and mayor of Dallas.
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