ATLANTA — Georgia’s Gov. Sonny Perdue has said that if Georgia loses access to Lake Lanier for drinking water, contingency plans for the state’s water supply are not only “more nonsensical” but also more expensive and less environmentally friendly, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported July 29.

Purdue, in a July 29 meeting with Journal-Constitution editors and reporters, also called on federal lawmakers to craft a national water policy that would help avert potential future “water wars” across the nation.

A US District Court Judge on July 17 told metropolitan Atlanta that it has three years to find a new source of drinking water, ruling that Lake Lanier was not to be tapped for drinking because it was created solely for controlling floods, allowing downstream navigation, and generating power, as WaterTech Online® reported.

Metropolitan Atlanta relies on the manmade lake as its primary source of drinking water. Gwinnet County, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area and contains many Atlanta suburbs, gets all its drinking water from Lake Lanier. Charles Bannister, chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission, said in a separate July 29 Atlanta Journal Constitution report, “We probably have the most to lose.”

Gwinnet County now is scrambling to find alternative drinking water sources, the story said.

To read the full Perdue story, click here.

To read the story about Gwinnet County, click here.

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