Federal draft proposal would allow more water for metro Atlanta

The federal government this week finally updated its water-sharing plans for the Chattahoochee River, a draft proposal that, if implemented, wouldn’t hinder metro Atlanta’s growth and development.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “operating manual” would allow metro Atlanta and downstream Georgia cities to soak up much more water than they currently use. The agency also concluded that the increased withdrawals would have a “negligible” impact on the economy and ecology of Florida’s Apalachicola Bay.

Both recommendations, if finalized, would mark significant wins for Georgia officials who have long warred with their neighbors over the river’s flow.

Florida officials dismissed the corps' recommendations as insufficient to sustain an already battered oyster and fishing industry where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico. Environmentalists along the length of the 435-mile river also condemned the draft report as outdated and biased toward Atlanta's business interests.

And the corps’ plan will undoubtedly take a back seat to Florida’s lawsuit now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Nonetheless, Atlanta boosters expressed optimism over the corps’ divvying up of the Chattahoochee, Flint and Apalachicola rivers.

“It appears that the corps has confirmed that metro Atlanta has a minimal impact on the Apalachicola Bay, which we have long argued,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, an executive with the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “And it appears the corps has granted additional water supply for most of Atlanta, which is positive news.”

More water for metro area

The agency’s plan would allow Georgia by 2040 to tap nearly 600 million gallons each day from the Chattahoochee River and Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s main water supply. The region now pulls more than 360 million gallons daily from the water basin. Two years ago, though, the regional water district requested more than 660 million gallons a day to meet the area’s 2040 needs.

The district and the Atlanta Regional Commission recently reported that population estimates and water needs over the next 25 years were significantly lower than first projected, meaning that less water will likely be needed in the long term.

“One of the most important things we noticed is that the manual is relying on (outdated) population projections and water demand,” said Jason Ulseth, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. “It needs to be updated to reflect the most up-to-date and accurate information.”

He was also disappointed that the proposal seemingly sides with Georgia officials who want to reduce the amount of Chattahoochee River water flowing below Atlanta at various times of the year. The corps’ plan, in another boost for Gov. Nathan Deal, supports the release of 40 million gallons daily from a planned Glades Reservoir in Hall County. The project, pegged at $130 million, is also buffeted by lower-than-expected population estimates.

Deal declined to comment.

“It factors in Glades. That’s a good sign,” the chamber’s Kirkpatrick said. “They are acknowledging Georgia needs additional reservoir capacity.”

Water wars traced to corps’ last update

The corps last updated the water manual in 1989. More recent updates have been delayed partly because Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been embroiled in legal challenges ever since. Georgia had largely prevailed legally in those challenges until November, when the Supreme Court agreed to weigh a last-ditch maneuver by Florida seeking to limit Georgia's water withdrawals from the Chattahoochee to 1992 levels. Back then, metro Atlanta's population hovered around 3 million people. It now surpasses 5.4 million. It is expected to grow to 8 million by 2040.

A special master overseeing the latest phase of the dispute has repeatedly urged both sides to settle. Deal traveled to Alabama and Florida over the summer to meet with his counterparts. The corps’ report reanimated Florida’s opposition.

Florida contends that Georgia hoards too much Chattahoochee River water and demands that the corps release more downstream, primarily to ensure a healthy balance of fresh and salt water needed by the oysters in Apalachicola Bay. The corps, though, says its plans “would likely have negligible effect on the aquatic resources and ecological function of the Apalachicola Bay estuary.”

Katherine Zitsch, the natural resources director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, said the plight of the oystermen is real.

“It is just not Georgia that is to blame,” she said.

Florida environmental and government officials strongly disagree.

“I don’t know who they’re talking to or what information they’re looking at, but the bay collapsed in 2012 and it has not recovered,” said Dan Tonsmeire, the Apalachicola Riverkeeper. “It’s experiencing, at best, a very meager comeback in a small portion of the bay.”

Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told The Panama City News Herald that the plan "isn't going to change one thing to help Apalachicola Bay."

Nor does the plan address the concerns of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Stakeholders, a private research group dedicated to a fair sharing of the water among Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Its detailed plan to better manage the rivers, released in May, calls for storing more water in the Lake Lanier and West Point Lake reservoirs. It also suggests a tri-state institute to continually update management of the river and reservoirs. Neither proposal was embraced by the corps.

Betty Webb, the Apalachicola city administrator who leads the stakeholder group, said its recommendations will be presented during the corps’ public hearings, which begin Oct. 26 in Gainesville, Ga.