ATLANTA — Unless Congress rules differently, metropolitan Atlanta has only three more years during which it can withdraw water for drinking from its primary source, nearby Lake Lanier, a US District Court judge ruled July 17, according to various media reports.

In his decision, Judge Paul Magnuson wrote: “The Court recognizes that this is a draconian result. It is, however, the only result that recognizes how far the operation of the [lake] has strayed from the original authorization.”

The suit before Magnuson involved a dispute over a 2003 agreement involving Georgia and the US Army Corps of Engineers. In that suit, the states of Alabama and Florida have contended that the lake was formed for only three purposes: controlling floods, allowing barges to float downstream, and power generation. Those two states also rely on water flows from Lake Lanier to support wildlife farther downstream.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the ruling would have a tremendous impact on his state's economic future. “Atlanta has based its growth on the idea that it could take whatever water it wanted whenever it wanted it, and that the downstream states would simply have to make do with less,” Riley said. “Following the court's ruling [July 17], this massive illegal water grab will be coming to an end.”

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has said he would appeal. His state has contended that one of the purposes of the lake is to supply drinking water for the metro Atlanta area.

The lake was created in the 1950s by construction of the Buford Dam.

Meanwhile, a closed-door meeting of Georgia’s congressional delegation in Washington, DC, originally set for July 21 to discuss the court ruling, has been rescheduled, according to a July 20 WABE report. Meeting details have yet to be finalized.

To read an article from the Gainesville (GA) Times article, click here.

To read a WABE report, click here.

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