Tri-State Water Wars – A Study in Poor Water Resources Planning
One of the most public problems in Georgia will evidently be solved behind closed doors. By now, we’re all aware of Georgia’s lengthy drought and the state’s unpreparedness. A federal court has mandated that Georgia, Florida, and Alabama come to a water sharing agreement by 2012 or have the supply from Lake Lanier cut substantially. The lake has recovered from the drought thanks to heavy rains but the pending court mandate looms large.
The three states have filed a joint motion to keep their negotiations secret to, according to the motion, “encourage the open exchange of information and proposals necessary to address the issues and discourage the improper dissemination of the same.” It isn’t uncommon to have secrecy during settlement talks. Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue said the request “is yet another proof point that all three states are committed to working together to reach a tri-state water deal.”
While it is undoubtedly a good sign to see the three sides working together to avoid another water resource crisis, some wonder why discussions must be confidential. Sally Bethea, executive director for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a Georgia-based water protection organization, asked, “Is this confidentiality arrangement really something just to serve as cover for political leaders?” She added that “the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization think(s) secrecy is not in the best interest of all the people in the three states who rely on these river systems.”
If the three states cannot come to an agreement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, operator of Lake Lanier, will lower water availability to levels last seen 40 years ago. In forty years, the Lanier-dependent metro-Atlanta area has grown by three million people and by countless more living in the Lanier–fed Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola river basins.
Obviously, scaling limits back to the limits set by the federal mandate would spell very big trouble for Georgia and its two neighbors. The poor water resources planning seeds sown by Georgia officials is starting to bear rotten fruit. Sometimes, it’s hard to heed advice to invest for the future when there are so many problems in the present. But rest assured that Georgia would gladly go back in time and map out a plan to avoid their current situation.
It’s always difficult to make budget decisions, especially in today’s tough economic times. It’s easy to spend money on immediate, obvious fixes. Water resource planning is not a quick fix. It doesn’t offer the immediate, tangible results that some of the obvious, at-the-ready fixes might. But looking at the plight that Georgia is facing, it’s obvious that a small investment a few years ago could have saved millions.
Contributed by Brent Bridges and the Southeast Municipal Market Team
Posted by Blog Contributor at 02/16/2010 11:32:01 AM