Georgia Water Coalition Commercial Calls Voter Attention to Important Water Issues

Today the Georgia Water Coalition launched television commercials aimed at educating Georgia voters about an important issue facing Georgia: water. The commercial calls attention to water waste in metro Atlanta and calls on voters to ask gubernatorial candidates how clean water can be assured for all Georgians.

“When it comes to water, it’s high time metro Atlanta becomes accountable for its own water needs and stops relying on the rest of Georgia for their water, especially when the metro area has too many leaks and not enough conservation,” said Gordon Rogers, the Flint Riverkeeper and member of the Georgia Water Coalition. “Already, metro Atlanta moves hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day among four major river basins, drying up certain portions of Georgia beyond reasonable use. As Georgia voters, we need to ask the candidates for Governor ‘How will metro Atlanta be held accountable?’ and ‘Who will protect our water?’”

For many years, metropolitan Atlanta has been one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. This growth has placed increasing pressure on Georgia’s finite water supply, and our next governor will likely face the long-running "Tri-State Water War" between Georgia, Florida and Alabama head-on once he gets into office.

The water war reached a new level on July 17, 2009, when U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that metro Atlanta was illegally using Lake Lanier for water supply. Judge Magnuson gave Georgia three years to reach a water sharing agreement with Alabama and Florida that would include the use of Lanier as a drinking water supply. Without that agreement, the taps could literally be shut off to portions of metro Atlanta. When the new governor takes office, he will have only 18 months to solve this dilemma.

Governor Perdue last year appointed a task force to identify potential sources of water in light of the ruling, and that task force considered water transfers to metro Atlanta from other locations like Lake Burton, Lake Hartwell, the Tennessee River basin, Lake Jackson, and South Georgia groundwater.

While the Task Force did not recommend any of these solutions because of their financial and political costs, metro Atlanta is already supporting its expanding development with immense transfers of water that would have flowed to downstream communities if not diverted. Cartersville and Rome in the Coosa River basin lose an estimated 13 million gallons per day (MGD) through a water transfer that supports metro Atlanta’s growth. LaGrange, West Point and Columbus, downstream from Atlanta on the Chattahoochee, lose an estimated 48 MGD; and Flint River communities like Thomaston, Oglethorpe and Albany lose around 10 MGD. On the Flint River, at Thomaston, this amounts to nearly 50% of the present-day low flow.

On the Flint, these transfers are already impacting water levels. Low flows in the upper Flint basin have been eroded by 60% since the 1970s, with as much as half of this attributable to interbasin water transfers alone, according to an analysis by the Flint Riverkeeper. The organization estimates that modern-day low flows could be improved by almost 50% if existing transfers of water were returned.

The 48 MGD transfer from the Chattahoochee is enough to supply the current daily demands of the downstream communities in Newnan, LaGrange, and Columbus combined, according to the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

In the Coosa basin, reductions in water transfers show that aggressive water conservation measures can help protect downstream communities. Transfers from the Coosa basin to metro Atlanta peaked in 2002 at 38 MGD, but have since declined steadily. During the drought year of 2008, water conservation efforts and drought-related watering restrictions kept the average monthly transfer below 18 MGD.

“This is the kind of success story we want to see more of from metro Atlanta,” said Joe Cook, Upper Coosa Riverkeeper. “It shows that if metro Atlanta gets serious about conservation, they can live within their means and protect water supplies for all Georgia communities like Rome, Albany and Columbus.”

“What has happened on the Coosa can happen on the Flint and Chattahoochee, too”, said Rogers. “Metro Atlanta has already demonstrated it can be more efficient, and share the water more equitably. We support these efforts, and want the next Governor to do all he can to move this ball down the field to a goal line of ‘no unreasonable impacts’ on downstream communities.”

Estimates show that metro Atlanta could save between 120 and 200 mgd by implementing water efficiency and conservation measures. Click here for a fact sheet with details on how. The commercial directs viewers to the “No Water Grabs” website where they can sign a petition asking the Governor to ensure any current and future interbasin transfers of water protect our natural resources and our economic future.

The television commercial is broadcasting in southwest Georgia over the next week, and is being broadcast over the internet on Georgia Water Coalition partners’ websites, YouTube, e-mail communications, and social networking sites.

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Updated: Build Reservoirs Now or Leave Georgians without Drinking Water in Three Years

Recently, a federal judge ruled that metro Atlanta residents have no right to tap Lake Lanier for their drinking water. Because that function was not originally authorized when the lake was built 50 years ago, 3 million people could be without a single source of water if a compromise with Florida and Alabama is not reached within three years. While I understand the need to follow the letter of the law, we must also consider what’s practical. We cannot leave 3 million citizens without drinking water.

We need a MacArthur plan for Georgia’s water future. Out of the three states embroiled in this issue, ours has the most to lose. The time for action is now. The Governor should issue an executive order setting forth clear objectives to ensure sustainable water resources for every Georgian today and in the future. This should begin immediately and include a three year water plan that puts us in a position of meeting our current and future water needs, regardless of the ruling’s ultimate outcome.

Increase water storage capacity. The simple fact is that Georgia has plenty of water, mainly from precipitation, however we obviously lack adequate water storage for current and future needs. By implementing the provisions of the Water Conservation and Drought Relief Act (SB 342), communities can apply for state funding to enlarge existing reservoirs and obtain permits to construct new ones. Then, under the current Statewide Water Plan, require all affected counties and municipalities to immediately identify their water needs and determine the best sites for new reservoirs as well as increasing freeboards and existing reservoirs. Every corner of the state is a potential place for water storage. To the north, a reservoir on public and private property, as well as Chattahoochee National Forest land, could supplement water inflow to Lanier, maintain adequate water levels and provide direct access to drinking water (as described in SR 107). There are also many appropriate sites in North Georgia that could afford large regional reservoirs. We can tap into the aquifers throughout South Georgia and use the Oconee National Forest for more storage. Finally, let’s not overlook the Georgia coast and opportunities to build desalination plants potentially co-located with power generation, as it has been successfully done in other states.

Permit new reservoirs immediately. The Drought Relief Act provides a streamlined permitting process for new reservoirs. As counties identify new and existing reservoir sites, the Environmental Protection Division should be permitting in 90 days or less. Certainly the Corps of Engineers will require a federal 404 permit and a state-issued 401 permit. We can start the 404 permitting process right away, but shouldn’t wait to begin construction. If Congress can do one thing of vital importance for us, they can simply waive the 404 permitting requirement prior to construction for reservoirs where we are simply raising the dam and increasing the freeboard. There are hundreds of soil conservation reservoirs in North Georgia whose dams can be easily raised. The implementation of these reservoirs is crucial to ensure Georgians have enough drinking water.

Provide funding to increase water storage. The state should immediately move toward funding reservoir development. Starting with next year’s budget, the state should dedicate a huge portion, maybe even a majority, of the bond package for the next three years to fund reservoir construction and water distribution projects. We must get design, permitting and construction underway immediately. With the number of unemployed civil engineers, planners, and construction workers, we can work around the clock to see this effort through and ultimately secure their economic future and that of the state.

Raise the lake level. We must also remember that while it is a strained resource, Lake Lanier is not entirely tapped out. While petitioning Congress for access to our only existing water source, we should also petition to raise the lake level two feet and claim that water as Georgia’s. This would be an additional 85,000 acre feet of water storage solely for our state’s consumption.

Georgia has few alternatives over the next three years. The Governor and his team, headed by Mike Garrett, will pursue all options; including negotiating with our neighbors, potentially appealing the judge’s decision and looking for new water sources. The fact remains that the water in the Chattahoochee River and basin falls on Georgia land, and by definition, that water is ours. We should store the necessary amounts of that water for the livelihood and prosperity of our state and its citizens. The time for talk and study is over. The time for action is now. The question is, do we have the resolve?

By Sen. Chip Pearson

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Midwestern Guardsmen Respond to Rising Flood Waters

Thousands of National Guard troops in the Midwest have moved into high gear reinforcing levees, conducting security patrols, and delivering food, water and relief supplies as record-breaking floods surged through the heartland.

Nearly 4,000 Iowa National Guard troops are deployed across the state as flood levels break records in almost every river community on the Cedar, Iowa, Des Moines, Raccoon and Mississippi river basins, reported Army Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard public affairs officer.

With 17 civilian fatalities and 106 injuries reported, 25,000 people evacuated from their homes, and flood waters still rising, the Guardsmen are reinforcing threatened levees, filling and delivering sandbags, and providing aerial reconnaissance of the region, Hapgood said.

The Army and Air Guardsmen also are transporting packaged meals, drinking water, cots and other relief supplies, conducting security patrols in support of local law enforcement officials, and providing high-water vehicles to utility crews evaluating homes for unsafe conditions.

"We're ... trying to prevent people from going where they shouldn't for their own safety," said Army Sgt. Jason Boesen, a 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, soldier mobilized to support flood--relief operations. "We assist by roving patrols with vehicles."

In Cedar Rapids, one of the hardest-hit cities, the troops used a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to sling-load seven 800-pound water pumps to a repair facility so wells could be returned to full capacity, Hapgood said.

Meanwhile, nearly 100 members of the Iowa Guard's 334th Brigade Support Battalion and 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, built a 3-foot levee from about 12,000 sandbags to protect a power substation in Ottumwa from being overrun by rising waters.

About 800 Iowa Guardsmen conducting annual training in South Dakota were recalled to the state to support the flood relief, Hapgood said.

Air Force Col. Brian Miller, commander of the Air National Guard's Sioux City-based 185th Air Refueling Wing, predicted that the Army and Air Guard will be "here for the long haul" supporting the mission.

"We're going to be here as long as it takes," he said.

Hapgood noted that many of the Guardsmen involved in the effort have served combat tours in Iraq or Afghanistan and now have stepped up to assist their own communities.

"This shows in a very tangible way the incredible amount of flexibility built into our skill sets that we can conduct combat missions and also help people here in the United States," Hapgood said. "It's demonstrative of the broad capabilities we have in the National Guard."

Army Sgt. Sean Rohret, a Company C, 133rd Infantry, soldier who has deployed as part of the Sinai Peninsula peacekeeping mission and served a tour of duty in Iraq, said it feels good to be pitching in to help rescue his home state.

"It's pretty gratifying to actually be able to get out here and help the community," he said. "I've seen a lot of people out sandbagging, a lot of people coming up to us, asking us where they can go to help. It's been a pretty wonderful experience getting to see everybody come together."

"It's a pleasure giving something back to the community," agreed Army Sgt. 1st Class Chino Halpin, from 334th BSB. "It's good service."

Meanwhile, more than 500 Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen are working alongside local citizens to build up levees along the Mississippi River in the western part of the state. Another 400 have been called to duty and are expected to be on site by tomorrow to provide sandbagging, communications and transportation support, state National Guard officials reported.

Army Sgt. Jon Stonewall, a member of the Illinois Army Guard's 233rd Military Police Company, is among those supporting the effort. Stonewall joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and deployed with his unit to Iraq in 2003, and also was called to duty in December 2006 when a severe winter storm hit Illinois.

"Being here is typical of the Guard," he said. "Part of our mission is here at home, helping the residents in an emergency."

Support from Stonewall and his fellow Guardsmen will be critical in the days ahead. River levels in the Quincy area of Illinois' Adams County are expected to crest tomorrow at 31.9 feet – almost 15 feet over flood stage, county officials reported.

To the south, hundreds of Missouri National Guardsmen are fighting to hold back the surge of water flowing downriver from Iowa and bracing for more to come.

"To be successful in this mission, we will deploy every necessary resource available," said Army Lt. Col. William McKinney, who commands a task force set up to oversee seven units supporting the effort. "Missouri's Guardsmen are an asset for our people to utilize when they face an emergency requiring additional assistance."

The Guardsmen are monitoring levees, working security and filling sandbags along the Mississippi River, state National Guard officials reported.

The Missouri Army Guard's 548th Transportation Company left annual training in South Dakota early to deliver 20 pallets of packaged meals to flood-ravaged Iowa earlier this week. The pallets, which were donated by the South Dakota National Guard, amount to 11,520 meals.

The mission was personal for the Missourians, who had spent much of the past week in South Dakota training alongside Iowa Guardsmen, who also left training early to respond to the severe flooding back home. "This is what we do," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Christine Chane. "Iowa needed the [meals], and we could help. They knew we had the assets to make the delivery."

Army Spc. John Crawford, whose 1438th Engineer Company just finished its annual training exercise, said he's happy to be able to provide flood relief support. "It is a great thing the Guard is doing up here," he said.

Meanwhile, almost 200 Wisconsin Army and Air Guardsmen are on duty as major flooding continues across the southern part of that state.

The Wisconsin Guardsmen are helping with flood control along flooded highways, filling and grading washed-out roads, securing traffic-control points, and providing aviation support for aerial damage-assessment missions, National Guard Bureau officials reported.

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service; Army Pvt. Cassandra Monroe and Sgt. Chad D. Nelson from the Iowa Army National Guard's 135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Air Force 1st Lt. Peter Shinn from the Iowa Air Guard's 185th Refueling Wing, 2nd Lt. Stacey Rieger from the Illinois National Guard, and Robert Seyller from the Missouri National Guard contributed to this article.