Water Dispute

The water dispute between Alabama, Georgia, and Florida is in its 27th year. It is based on a U.S. Corps of Engineers’ decision to reallocate water usage at Lake Lanier (Chattahoochee River) to provide contracted amounts of water to Georgia (primarily to the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area). When the Corps of Engineers’ decision was made for reallocating this water resource, Alabama filed a lawsuit and Florida signed on as a plaintiff.
In addition, Alabama raised concerns about water withdrawals from the Alabama – Coosa – Tallapoosa (ACT) river basin and Georgia’s plans to build regional reservoirs in the ACT and Apalachicola – Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basins. This was the beginning of the “water wars”.

As the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (AMSA) has grown, water usage has increased and has now reached a point where Georgia’s water consumption has validated the concerns of those who filed the original lawsuits.

Our Involvement

Your NHLA has been very active in communicating the seriousness of this issue to the public and continues to work closely with local and state authorities.
Your NHLA was instrumental in setting up “stakeholder” meetings in support of a statewide water management plan…the plan being critical to any success the state may have in future litigation.

Additional pages on our website will provide a detailed history and current status of the fight over water with Georgia. Take some time to read and become familiar with the issues…we all have a lot to lose should the water flow be reduced into Neely Henry lake. Stay Aware!