ATLANTA, Ga – Georgia has scored a major victory in its war against Florida for control of its water resources.
On Monday, a specially appointed master to the case recommended that the Sunshine State’s request for additional water from the Flint River be denied.
“Florida has not proven by clear and convincing evidence that any additional streamflow in the Flint River resulting from a decree imposing a consumptive cap on Georgia’s water use would be released from Jim Woodruff Dam into the River at a time that would provide a material benefit to Florida,” wrote Ralph Lancaster Jr., who was appointed to the case by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling is the latest development in a lengthy legal dispute with Florida over water. Alabama and Florida have been arguing that Georgia takes more than a fair share from the Flint and Chattahoochee.
Georgia officials fear that allowing Florida and Alabama to take more water from the rivers will harm the Peach State economy.
A ruling against Georgia could have been very disruptive for metro Atlanta and north Georgia. As it stands, it appears metro Atlanta can continue to use Chattahoochee River water unabated.
The water in Lake Lanier supplies metro Atlanta with much of its water. The water that flows downstream from Lake Lanier supplies water to fish, mussels and oyster beds in Apalachicola Bay in Florida. Florida argued that Georgia was hoarding the water by keeping it backed up in Lake Lanier, and wanted the court to order Georgia to release more of that water for use in the bay, where 90 percent of the state’s oysters are harvested.
This is a case that has been around since 1990, when Alabama sued the Army Corps of Engineers to try to get it to release more water from Georgia.
On Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal issued a statement saying he was “encouraged by the special master’s report as it appears to support the position taken by Georgia.”
