For nearly 25 years, Florida and Alabama have sued over Georgia’s right to use the water that originates in our state. In 2011, a ruling by the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld metropolitan Atlanta’s right to use Lake Lanier for drinking water. Now, the latest chapter in this decades-old battle is unfolding, as Florida’s governor blames metro Atlanta for the plight of the oysters and oystermen in Apalachicola Bay.
While the decline of the oyster population is indeed tragic, the fault is not metro Atlanta’s. In recent years, the Southeast faced one of the worst droughts on record. Lack of freshwater supply affected users in all three states. Even in the driest of years, metro Atlanta’s water consumption only accounts for 2 to 3 percent of the flows in the entire Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint system.
In addition to drought, over-harvesting of oysters following the BP oil spill has led to the oysters’ decline. Furthermore, the oysters are impaired by Sikes Cut, a man-made passage constructed through St. Georges Island to facilitate quicker access for fishing boats to the open Gulf waters. This convenience comes at the cost of the oysters due to increased salinity in the bay.
Although metro Atlanta is not to blame for the woes of the oysters, we understand that we must be good stewards of the water resources that flow through our state. The Atlanta region, through the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, has established one of the most aggressive water conservation programs in the country. The Metro Water District’s 15 counties, 92 municipalities and their respective water providers have implemented 19 water conservation measures, including tiered conservation pricing (the more water you use, the more you pay), toilet rebate programs and water system leak detection and repair.
This dedication to water conservation and wise stewardship of our water is paying off. Since 2000, metro Atlanta’s regional, per capita water use has dropped by more than 20 percent. Total water withdrawals have dropped by 10 percent, despite the fact that population increased by 20 percent to more than 5 million people. This improvement is a testament to the water efficiency, water conservation and water stewardship efforts put in place across the district.
Though the region’s record for wise water use is clear, metro Atlanta is not letting up. The water district just launched My Drop Counts (www.mydropcounts.org), a water conservation campaign aimed at raising awareness of how much water metro residents use and encouraging them to use less. Lake Lanier is currently full, but our message to residents is that water conservation is always important.
As Gov. Nathan Deal asserted last week, the best way to end this dispute is through negotiation, not litigation. We do not need to continue the water wars, but instead come together to collaborate on how to share our water resources. It’s way past the time for a lasting peace. But if Florida decides to stay the course and waste taxpayer dollars through litigation, we prevailed in the last lawsuit, and we are confident we will prevail again.
Boyd Austin is chairman of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.
