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Georgia's Answer To Drought Riles Neighboring Governors

DAVE MARTIN / AP Photo

Several southeastern states are suffering from a relentless drought.

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By MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 1, 2007

An attempt by Georgia's governor to limit the amount of water released into the Chattahoochee River has reignited a 17-year-old water war with Florida and Alabama.

Lake Lanier in northern Georgia supplies drinking water for metro Atlanta's 4 million residents, but every day about 3.2 billion gallons of lake water - enough to meet Tampa's needs for more than a month - is emptied into the Chattahoochee.

The river eventually hooks up with the Apalachicola and Flint rivers, and their combined waters support a seafood industry in Florida, power generation in Alabama and hundreds of aquatic species, some listed as endangered by the federal government.

Now, with the Southeast in the throes of an unrelenting drought and Atlanta running out of drinking water, Gov. Sonny Perdue's attempt to limit the flow has driven a wedge between himself and fellow Republican governors Charlie Crist of Florida and Bob Riley of Alabama. The governors have exchanged fusillades on editorial pages, in news releases and even in letters to President Bush.

Today, the three state leaders will meet in the nation's capital with Bush administration officials in hopes of solving what has been an intractable problem. The legal fight over the issue has been ongoing since 1990.

A solution won't be easy. Perdue says flow out of Lake Lanier must be slowed to protect the safety and welfare of Georgians. Crist and Riley counter that Atlanta has plenty of water left in Lake Lanier, and reducing the lake's flow will hurt their states' economies.

Riley's concern is the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant and other Alabama industries that use water from the Chattahoochee River.

'If Georgia obtains the ability to curtail flow support for the river, then those plants will likely have to close,' Riley wrote in a letter to President Bush. 'The effect on the employees, their families and their communities will be devastating.'

Crist also wrote Bush, saying reducing the flow of water from Georgia would endanger Apalachicola Bay's $134 million commercial fishing industry and the estimated $74 million in related goods and services.

'The Florida Panhandle is facing economic peril as a result of insufficient water flows,' Crist wrote. 'Further reductions would only hasten the decline' of Florida's commercial fishing.

Apalachicola Bay is considered one of the most productive estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere because of the mixture of clean, fresh river water with the bay's saltwater. The mixture produces ideal habitat for fish and shellfish. Florida gets 90 percent of its fresh oysters from the bay.

People or Mussels?

Perdue has framed the dispute as a choice between people and mussels. That's because the schedule for releasing water from Lake Lanier is based on an opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a lower flow could kill endangered mussels in the Apalachicola River.

'Obviously, human drinking water should trump the needs of animals,' Perdue spokesman Marshall Guest said.

Alabama's Riley, however, says Perdue is muddying the waters with the mussel issue. Riley and other Alabamians have accused Georgia of creating its own problem by waiting too long to start conservation measures.

'Georgia waited until Sept. 28 to impose its most stringent water restrictions, and that allowed Atlanta residents to use lawn sprinklers and water their cars all summer long,' said Todd Stacy, Riley's deputy press secretary.

Stacy said Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, restricted lawn watering in June, saving 30 million gallons of water a day.

No one is denying the critical nature of Atlanta's water shortage. Northern Georgia is suffering the worst drought in recorded history. On Oct. 11, Lake Lanier's water level fell to 13 feet below normal. Other federal reservoirs in northern Georgia are also in dismal shape, and the future looks dry.

'Reservoir storage is falling to levels not seen in decades, and the climatic forecasts through next winter suggest that the drought will worsen,' wrote Carol A. Couch, head of Georgia's Department of Natural Resources, in a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Altering River's Character

The Corps of Engineers regulates the flow out of Lake Lanier and other reservoirs in the Apalachicola-Flint-Chattahoochee basin. Because of Atlanta's concerns, the corps is amending its operating plan to gradually reduce the flow out of Lake Lanier. The new release schedule, however, must undergo review by the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure it doesn't violate the federal Endangered Species Act.

'They do have a veto,' said Nanciann Regalado, a corps spokeswoman. 'We could unilaterally change what we do, but we would be in conflict with the law and we would be liable.'

Regalado said the Fish and Wildlife Service has promised to expedite its review and should have it ready by Nov. 15.

Tom McKenzie, spokesman for Fish and Wildlife, said the agency based its current flow rate on the lowest flows recorded historically on the Apalachicola River. He said there is evidence that flows lower than 32 million gallons a day have killed mussels by stranding them on exposed river banks.

'The money question is how much water does a mussel need, and we have never been able to determine that parameter until now,' McKenzie said.

Mussels need clean, flowing water. In addition to being a food source for other species, mussels are an indicator of the health of the river's ecosystem.

'When you start losing mussels ... they're telling you that the river is not as healthy as it normally is, and that impacts everything from the bigmouth bass fishery in the river to the oyster fishery in the bay,' said Steven Herrington, senior aquatic ecologist with the Nature Conservancy, a conservation group.

Herrington said the three-river system already suffers because of numerous dams and reservoirs along its length. These have altered the 'natural character' of the river, disturbing the natural ebb and flow of the water in its flood plain.

Add to that the fact the river is at its lowest level in recorded history. Herrington said further flow reductions could be ruinous for plants and animals that depend on a robust river.

Andy Smith, executive director of the environmental group Apalachicola Riverkeeper, is calling for a study to ascertain the demands on the three rivers and their capacity to meet them. Smith said the study could be used by a tri-state commission to better manage the rivers' flows. Without such a commission, the dispute will continue to be argued in courtrooms, he said.

'How are we going to allocate the water between the environmental and economic systems?' Smith said. 'There's a real likelihood that goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. That's the only entity that can actually allocate the water.'

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this article. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib.com.

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