Georgia wins the latest round in water wars

ATLANTA - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued an opinion saying that it has the legal authority to supply metro Atlanta's drinking water from Lake Lanier.

The opinion by the corps, which manages regional water resources, was welcomed by Atlanta leaders as a federal judge prepares to decide whether Congress should parse out how the lake's water is used.

Corps attorney Earl Stockdale's opinion says that setting aside about 12 percent of the lake for drinking water would have only minor effects on the project's goals to produce hydropower, control floods and float barges.

The north Georgia reservoir is at the center of a long-running battle involving Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Alabama and Florida say more water is needed downstream to float barges and protect the fragile ecosystem.