The governors of Georgia, Albama and Florida will meet next week to discuss Lake Lanier.
Sonny Perdue will meet with Bob Riley from Alabama and Charlie Crist from Florida next Tuesday, December 15 in Montgomery, Alabama.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled in July that the original intent of Lake Lanier did not include supplying water for Atlanta's population. He further ruled that Atlanta's use of Lake Lanier water must stop in 2011 unless the three states can reach an agreement.
Georgia Short of Options
Georgia has few other options besides negotiating.
Georgia seems to have resigned itself to the fact that help will not come from Congress. Washington is distracted by the economy, major national and international issues and even if a bill were to be tabled, it probably wouldn't be favorable to Georgia whose delegation is outnumbered by the other two states.
The state is also thought to have little hope of winning their appeal against Judge Magnuson's decision.
Finally, Georgia is investigating possible fallback options should they lose access to Lake Lanier. Georgia’s Water Contingency Task Force, a group convened just two months ago, is reported to be preparing to make its final recommendations before the Georgia General Assembly convenes … next month.
Among the alternatives it is reported to be considering is “interbasin transfers” — moving water from one river basin to another, a practice prohibited by 2001 legislation. That would likely set the city of Atlanta against other parts of the state because cities including Columbus and LaGrange are staunchly opposed to such transfers.
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