Dec. 21, 2007
By Greg Bluestein
AP
ATLANTA --Georgia's state climatologist warned Friday that without more rain over the next three months, the state could face a drought next year even worse than this year's record conditions.
Photo: Georgia's Lake Allatoona
David Stooksbury said the severe drought gripping north Georgia and parts of the Southeast could expand through the rest of the state and lead to "catastrophic" conditions in the summer.
And although recent rains have helped recharge dwindling reservoirs, Stooksbury said forecasts show a dry winter ahead and little chance of the drought breaking.
"Currently," he said, "there is no relief in sight."
Meanwhile, Georgia water gurus postponed a vote on a statewide water plan.
The proposal, which has been characterized as a "plan to plan," calls for assessments to measure how much water Georgia has and how the resources could be used as the state's population grows.
But a vote by the Georgia Water Council, a group of lawmakers and officials who have been drafting the plan for about three years, was postponed until January amid criticism.
Environmentalists argued water planning districts created under the proposal should be based on the borders of watersheds instead of political boundaries. And county lobbyists say half of each district council should consist of local government or water utility officials. The plan's latest version allows the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker to appoint each of the members.
Carol Couch, the state's top environmental official, said she was taken aback by the "stridency" of the comments from opponents and shelved a vote on the plan until Jan. 8 - just six days before it must be presented to the Legislature.
"It's not a hang-up," said state Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry. "We just need to take another look at the lines."
Even if approved next month, the council's approval is far from the last step in the process. It will likely face a vote by the General Assembly, which could approve the proposal, draft its own, or ask the council to submit a new one.
Gov. Sonny Perdue signed legislation calling for a water plan in 2004. The extreme drought has suddenly put the plan in the forefront. The meeting Friday was packed with lobbyists, lawmakers and media.
More than one-third of the Southeast is now covered by an "exceptional" drought - the worst drought category. The Atlanta area, with a population of 5 million, is smack in the middle of the affected region, which includes most of Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Carolina, as well as parts of Kentucky and Virginia.
With dwindling water reserves in Lake Lanier, the north Georgia reservoir that supplies Atlanta, Perdue has asked the federal government to release less water from its reservoirs and held a public prayer vigil for rain on the steps of the Capitol.
The dry conditions have also given a new sense of urgency to Georgia, Florida and Alabama to settle a water fight that's lasted almost 20 years over how the federal government manages water in the region.
At a meeting Monday, the three governors and the federal government agreed not to reduce the minimum amount of water flowing into Florida's Apalachicola Bay. Fishermen had said such a reduction would devastate the Florida Panhandle's oyster industry. The officials pledged to come up with a plan for sharing the region's water by March.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/205086.html