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Georgia in a State of
Emergency Over Water Problems  Sunday, October 21st,
2007
The Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue has declared
a water supply emergency in northern Georgia, with the water
resources dangerously low due to drought. Months have gone
by without a drop of rain.
Yesterday, Gov. Perdue asked for President Bush's
help through an executive order, requesting temporary relief of
regulations that require the state to send 3.2 billion gallons of
water daily downstream to Alabama and Florida. He also asked
Bush to declare 85 counties as federal disaster areas.
Strangely, the Army Corps of Engineers sees things
differently.
Maj. Daren Payne, the Army Corps' deputy commander
for the Mobile, Alabama District, said that even if there were
nine months without rain, water supplies would still be
adequate.
Since the 1980's, the corps has been releasing
5,000 feet of water per second from the dam between Lake Lanier
and the Chattahoochee River.
(I can't even type that without humming that Alan
Jackson Chattahoochee song..."Way down yonder on the
chattahoochee...It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie"...yes,
I would suppose hotter-than-a-hoochie-coochie + drought is not
good.)
They send the water due to Florida's hydroelectric
power needs, and concern for endangered species in the
river.
The state of Georgia filed a motion Friday seeking
to require the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict the amount
leaving the lakes and northern Georgia reservoirs - the corps
responded that they need 120 days to review the water
polices.
"The actions of the Corps of Engineers and Fish
and Wildlife Service are not only irresponsible, I believe they're
downright dangerous and Georgia cannot stand for this negligence,"
says Governor Perdue.
Meanwhile, the poor people of North Georgia are
probably panicking!
What will Bushy do about this one? We shall
see.
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