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Name:
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Firefighter
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Subject:
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Water Agreement
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Date:
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11/2/2007 1:49:31 PM
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Read the last paragraph!!
Tri-state water deal aids Atlanta's supply
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne discusses an agreement between Alabama, Florida and Georgia over water supply in Atlanta, at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., Thursday, during a news conference to discuss the drought problem in the South. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, right, listens.
Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook What's this? By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
In the latest attempt to grapple with one of the harshest droughts on record and a decades-old battle over water rights, the Bush administration brokered a deal Thursday among three states that should keep Atlanta's water supply flowing.
Under the deal, the Army Corps of Engineers would send less water to Alabama and Florida from Georgia reservoirs that the Corps has jurisdiction over. The move would curtail water to power plants, farms, commercial fisheries and smaller municipalities in the two states.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the agreement could put an end to lawsuits involving the Corps and all three states. He said the water changes could go into effect in two weeks if the federal Fish and Wildlife Service gives preliminary approval.
State and federal agencies estimated before the deal that water supplies for Atlanta and some other cities in the region could begin running out in three to nine months.
The agreement was announced after a meeting of the states' governors and other administration officials in Washington.
WATER LEVELS FALL: Drought anxiety rises
Homeowners and businesses in the Southeast have been dealing with restrictions on water usage because of below-average rainfall. The relatively mild hurricane and tropical storm season this year and last has not helped either.
According to the National Weather Service, Atlanta is experiencing its fourth-driest year since records began in 1878. Lake Lanier, Atlanta's main water supply, is 8 feet below its average water level and could drop to its all-time low by the end of November, according to the Corps.
As the drought has intensified, so has Perdue's criticism of the federal government for releasing what he says is too much water from Georgia reservoirs to states downstream. But Alabama and Florida have said the water is necessary to maintain smaller cities in their states and a wide range of economic interests.
"We care a great deal obviously … about our people, about our fish and about our environment," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said.
Under the agreement the Corps will decrease the river flow from the Atlanta area from 5,000 cubic feet per second to 4,200 — a 16% reduction. All sides will monitor the changes in water flow and barring any side effects the deal will be finalized in February. One concern is whether the move will harm protected species of mussels and sturgeon living downstream.
"No one in Alabama wants to deprive the state of Georgia or Atlanta of any of their drinking water," Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said. But "we have to make sure that all of the reservoirs are treated equally."
Contributing: Doyle Rice
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