WASHINGTON - While expressing disappointment in a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday dealing a blow to Georgia and Lake Lanier, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue says the state will "now move forward" in trying to reach a consensus "with our neighbors" in the long-running tri-state water.
The U.S. Supreme Court said it will let stand a lower court ruling that threatens Georgia's long-term water use plans for the Atlanta region, giving Florida and Alabama a pivotal victory in the states' long-running water wars.
The court's decision raises fundamental questions about Georgia's rights to Lake Lanier, which serves as Atlanta's main water source.. It could also play a key role in deciding related water-rights disputes in lower courts.
Monday's decision involves a 2003 water-sharing agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers that would have allowed Georgia to take far more water from Lanier for its drinking supply over the coming decades. The deal would have allowed Georgia's withdrawals to jump from about 13 percent of the lake's capacity to about 22 percent.
Florida and Alabama contested the pact, arguing that larger withdrawals would cripple downstream flows into their states. They said the lake was initially built for hydropower and providing water to Georgia was not an authorized use.
A federal district court sided with Georgia. But in February, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington overturned that decision and invalidated the agreement.
Georgia had appealed to the Supreme Court for another review, and the states were watching the decision closely because the legal questions involved could strongly influence other pending cases.
In August, a U.S. district court judge overseeing much of the litigation said as much, announcing that the first question he would take up is whether Georgia can continue using Lanier as a water source. Judge Paul A Magnuson said that question could render other issues ``obsolete'' and allow the dispute to be resolved quickly.
He acknowledged that the higher court rulings on the Lanier question would ``undoubtedly affect'' the outcome.
Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been in a legal and political battle over water rights since the early 1990s, and the fight has intensified in the past year as extreme drought has gripped the region.
With prodding from President George W. Bush, the governors of the three states began fresh negotiations last year to seek a settlement. But the talks failed, and the states have grown increasingly critical of one another.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue issued a statement in response to the ruling, declaring â
Thursday
March 6th, 2025
5:03PM
