Perdue remains optimistic about water talks

ATLANTA - Although White House-brokered negotiations failed to produce a resolution in the tri-state water wars, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue remains optimistic.

Perdue told Channel 2 Action News Monday he's convinced that if he and the governors of Alabama and Florida sit down long enough they can come up with a plan that's in the best interest of all the states.

Perdue re-iterated that at the height of the drought last fall that Georgia's reservoirs - including Lake Lanier - were being drained as water flowed downstream to Florida and Alabama.

The latest deadline for an agreement was Saturday. Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne said in a letter to the governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida, which was released over the weekend, that federal agencies will move forward with developing a water-sharing solution of their own.