Researchers: More lakes not the answer to water needs

ATHENS - A group of researchers says attacking North Georgia's increasing need for more water is not the answer to the problem.

Gov.-elect Nathan Deal is among the public officials and others who say Georgia needs to build more lakes.

But, according to the Athens Banner-Herald, the scientists say reservoirs actually reduce water availability overall, especially for downstream neighbors in South Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

Because reservoirs contribute to water evaporation, less water finds its way downstream, said John Kominoski, a researcher in the UGA School of Ecology.

"We don't have canyons in the Southeast as they do in the Southwest, so our reservoirs are shallow and lose capacity more rapidly through evaporation."

The newspaper says Kominoski is among the scientists who analyzed freshwater resources in the Southwestern and Southeastern United States.