2008 Woodie Awards
Drought causes water war among southern states
Shannon Dille
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: News
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Given the increasingly problematic circumstances of the drought, the commodity of water has generated disputes concerning its distribution and conservation throughout the South.
This week, Alabama filed a complaint to challenge the Engineer Corps' decision to reduce the amount of water being released from Lake Allatoona.
The draining will raise issues for Alabama's water-powered generation as well as the navigability of the Alabama River.
"The Corps has a longstanding pattern of favoring Georgia over Alabama in its operations at Lake Allatoona, and the Corps' actions have only gotten worse during the unprecedented drought we are experiencing," According to the Montgomery Advertiser's interview with Alabama Attorney General Troy King.
The current issue involves the water in Lake Lanir and to whom its contents belong.
According to the Birmingham News, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue wants to cut the downstream release of water from Lake Lanier into the Chattahoochee River, taking water from Alabama.
The Alabama Advertiser's interview with Terry Everett revealed some of the state's sentiments about the ongoing water war.
"I have joined with rest of the Alabama congressional delegation in expressing opposition to efforts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withhold water in Georgia to which Alabama is legally entitled," Everett said.
Georgia is currently considered to be in the "exceptional" drought category.
The state is facing heavy criticism for failing to take action to preserve water sooner in spite of advance warnings.
According to the Herald Dispatch, Governor Bob Riley applauded the water limits that Birmingham enforced in the earlier drought stages in June.
Atlanta is one of the worst for water supply in the U.S., according to the Birmingham News. The city's six water basins are dangerously low.
"Atlanta can't spend all summer during a drought watering their lawns and flowers and then expect someone else to bail them out," Riley said.