As population continues to rise within the United States, demand for water rises with it.  This is especially true in the Tri-State area of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.  The first lawsuit was filed in 1990, and the legal battles have been raging for close to 25 years. 

The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (see Figure 1) is utilized for a variety of purposes by Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.  In 1938, the Unite States Army Corps of Engineers proposed damming the Chattahoochee River in northern Georgia to provide hydroelectric power and drinking water for Atlanta.  The dam was authorized in 1946 and construction was completed in 1957.  The Buford Dam created Lake Lanier.

At the time of the construction of the dam, the tri-state area was much different than it is today.  The population of the entire river basin sat at only 1.6 million people, while today the population of Atlanta alone exceeds 5 million.[i]  When the dam was being approved, the rural South was not fully electrified, transportation networks were poorly developed, and the slew of restrictive environmental legislation of the 1960s and 1970s was not yet in affect.[ii]

Today, much of the existing water supply is tied up in 136 multipurpose projects owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, storing 1.24 trillion gallons of water.[iii] In the West, the rights to this water are governed by compacts.

“In the West, practically every interstate river is governed by compacts” –David Robbins, a Colorado attorney

The entire Chattahoochee River lies within Georgia’s borders, and as such, Georgia has argued that it has a sovereign right to withdraw all the water it needs from the river.[iv] Mixed with growing concerns about water quantity are also concerns about water quality-particularly in Florida where Apalachicola oyster beds are threatened by increased pollution.[v]  The number of impaired waterways continues to grow, reaching over 5,000 in at least one US state (see figure 3).

Today, both Georgia and Alabama utilize riparian rights to govern their water usage, while Florida utilizes a hybrid system.[vi]

 

Figure 3: number of polluted waterways by state; source: EPA Water Quality Assessment, National Summary

 

Georgia

Lake Lanier, in Georgia, provides over 70% of the drinking water for metro Atlanta.[vii]  Atlanta is located near the head of the Chattahoochee river, where the flow is naturally less than it would be downstream.  As such, a high demand is placed on the river before the water can accommodate it.[viii] Over 45% of Georgia’s modern population is concentrated in metro Atlanta, which would not be possible without Lake Lanier.

In 1986, Georgia experienced an extreme drought.  At this time, Georgia implemented water rationing, but the water levels were still dropped extremely low, so low, that it almost made the rivers downstream unnavigable.[ix]  As a result of this, the Army Corps of Engineers began withdrawing an additional 529 million gallons per day from the river to prepare for any future droughts.  They also planned to create more reservoirs in Georgia to provide for future growth, which angered Alabama and Florida.

 

Figure 4: Lake Lanier in relation to metro Atlanta. Source: lakelanier.com

Florida

After plans to withdraw more water from Lake Lanier were announced in the 1980s, Florida became increasingly concerned about their own water supplies.  Water from this river basin fuels its multi-million dollar seafood industry.[x]  In addition to water quantity, Florida is also concerned about water quality when it comes to its oyster beds along the rivers.

Alabama

Alabama needs flow from the river basin to fuel its own economic development.  The water is used in Alabama for farming, industry, hydropower, and barge traffic.[xi]  By 1990, Alabama had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent further water withdrawals upstream in Georgia.

 

 

 

 

[i] Jones, Lewis B, John L. Fortuna, and Karen M. Johnston. Symposium: Not a Drop to Drink : Water Rights in America. 2013.

 

[ii] Ibid.

 

[iii] Ibid.

 

[iv] Copeland, Larry. "Water Wars loom amid Southern boom." 24 November 1998. USA Today. 4 December 2014.

 

 

[v] Ibid.

 

[vi] Stephenson, Dustin S. "The tri-state compact: falling waters and fading opportunities." Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law (2000): 83-109

 

[vii] Ibid.

 

[viii] Peeples, Melanie. NPR's Morning Edition: Battle for Water Rights 18 October 1998.

 

 

[ix] Stephenson, Dustin S. "The tri-state compact: falling waters and fading opportunities." Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law (2000): 83-109.

 

[x] Ibid.

 

[xi] Ibid.