Courts to settle water war between metro Atlanta, Florida and Alabama

ATLANTA- Actions in two courtrooms soon could determine metro Atlanta’s ability to control its future water supply as well as its hold over the water it already has. The outcome is as uncertain as it is important.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this fall whether to take a petition filed by Georgia, which could validate an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assuring this region’s access to water for 20 years.

In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson in Florida wants by early next year to hear arguments over whether metro Atlanta has the right to use Lake Lanier, which sits on the Chattahoochee River, as its primary water supply. The right has been assumed over the years: More than 3 million people get their drinking water from the federal reservoir or the Chattahoochee just below it.

But its legal basis is contested by Alabama and Florida.

Attorneys for all three states say they can’t predict the outcome, nor can they say exactly what defeat could mean to this region. Certainly, additional reservoirs are already coming. Aggressive water conservation may also be required, even after the current drought ends.

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Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

For more information on water conservation, visit www.nuprana.com