Report: Lanier water plan in the works

WASHINGTON - Published reports say the Georgia congressional delegation may have a plan ready as early as next month that would make it legal for Georgia cities to pull drinking water from Lake Lanier.

The proposal is expected to include, not just Lanier, but 80 other lakes managed by the Corps of Engineers in 27 other states, according to Thursday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Last month, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could not legally allow water to be taken from Lanier for drinking purposes, and said Atlanta would have to stop in three years, unless Congress authorized it.