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The disagreements over water between Florida, Georgia and Alabama aren t over even though earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Georgia. The states have been arguing for decades with Florida and Alabama accusing Georgia of using too much water.
A plan was put forth six years ago by people who say there is a way to find agreement between the states.
To many, Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta, is a fun destination. But the reservoir is also metro Atlanta s main source of drinking water. It s near the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River, one of the rivers the states have fought over.
Credit Molly Samuel / WABE
Florida, Georgia and Alabama have been arguing for decades over water. Florida and Alabama accuse Georgia of using too much of it.
Even now that a major case in the 30-year fight ended earlier this year, with the U.S. Supreme Court siding with Georgia, the disagreements are far from resolved.
At stake are delicate habitats in Florida and a once-thriving oyster fishery, jobs and power generation in Alabama, and water supply for south Georgia farmers as well as for most of metro Atlanta.
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While state and federal officials have not been able to come to an agreement over how to manage their shared river system, six years ago, a group representing industry, farmers, residents and environmentalists in all three states released a plan they say showed a way forward, with a set of recommendations they say can help ease the problems, without resorting to the courts.
Photo courtesy WFSU
The Jim Woodruff Dam is in Chattahoochee Florida. It’s here, where the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers join to form the Apalachicola, home to a Bay that used to be famed for its seafood harvests, most notably its oysters.
When rain is plentiful in south Georgia, water flows freely into Florida. But when there’s drought, as there was for ten consecutive months in 2012, water stays behind the dam. And this is a source of conflict between the states.
“We’re not asking for a great amount of water more. We’re just asking for an equal share of water.” This is oysterman Shannon Hartsfield in 2012, during the drought. The Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery had just crashed. It still hasn’t recovered. In a more recent interview, Hartsfield said he hasn’t harvested oysters in nearly a decade.
WFSU is partnering with WABE in Atlanta for a look at Florida’s Supreme Court case against Georgia, from both sides. Molly Samuel from WABE is covering the perspective from Georgia’s Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers, and WFSU’s Rob Diaz de Villegas is covering the perspective from Florida’s Apalachicola River and Bay.
Each produced a radio story, and collaborated in writing the following post.
Florida vs. Georgia- What’s at Stake in Florida, by Rob Diaz de Villegas of WFSU in Tallahassee.
Florida vs. Georgia- What’s at Stake in Georgia, Molly Samuel of WABE in Atlanta.
In Apalachicola, Florida, fishermen measure their connection to the bay in generations. Apalachicola Bay was once famed for its seafood harvests, most notably its oysters.