Georgia wins latest skirmish in water war

Georgia has won the latest battle in the over 20 year water war between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over the use of water from the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Flint River System.           

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta overturned a ruling this week that would keep the city from withdrawing drinking water from Lake Lanier.

The reservoir provides water for over 3 million Georgians but two years ago U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Lake Lanier was never intended to provide drinking water.
He said the federal lake was initially built for hydropower and providing drinking water to Georgia was not an authorized use.

The judge’s ruling froze water withdrawals at 2009 levels for three years to give Atlanta time to find another source of drinking water or to allow the US Congress to change the authorized use for Lake Lanier.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and gave the Corps of Engineers a year to decide how best to implement Georgia’s claim.
The decision is just the latest swing in a battle that has been going on since the early 1990’s.
Florida and Alabama have long argued that Georgia is relying too heavily on water from Lanier, which is a federal reservoir.
That is leaving Florida and Alabama with less water for economic and industrial uses and is threatening the seafood industry in the Apalachicola Bay.


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