Georgia, Alabama and Florida have fought over the water for almost two decades. But as the southeast struggles with the most severe droughts to hit the region in recorded history, the battle has grown intense. There were once 154 boat ramps on giant Lake Lanier; today, there are only two, bogged down in the mud flats. Cities and power companies have been extending their intake pipes deeper and deeper into the river in a desperate bid to maintain flow. Conservation efforts are underway upstream-but they’ll have little impact on the federally-mandated water flow out of Lake Seminole at the intersection of the three states-where 4,750 cubic feet of water a second flows through hydropower turbines for the protection and health of mussels and sturgeon in the Apalachicola Bay. Last month President Bush dispatched his secretary of the Interior to wade into the fray to try to come up with a long-term agreement between the states on how to better manage the water supply. On Monday, Secretary Dirk Kempthorne sat down with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Alabama Governor Bob Riley and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to sort through long-term solutions. The secretary spoke with Newsweek afterwards. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Reports suggest the water crisis in the region is nearing critical proportions. How long has there been a lack of rainfall? Secretary Kempthorne: This drought has been going on for several months and everyone is starting to realize that what was once infinite is now finite. The severity of this drought has made people realize that the drought is here and the prospect of it ending soon is not in sight. The water levels have gotten low several times in past, but this is the lowest. Last weekend’s storm front put more water in the basin. But everyone realizes if there is no water between now and March there is going to be a serious, serious problem.
What has averted crisis in the past? Rain. Everyone then moves on and you get to the next crisis with no plan in place. The individual states would come close to an agreement, but ultimately when rain came, it took the pressure off. This present drought has reinforced that we need to have an emergency drought plan now and for the future. And all the governors agree. There are times when we will have good rainfall but what is missing is the long-term plan. The Army Corps of Engineers has an operational plan but it goes back two decades.
What did you and the governors agree to do to attack the problem? They accepted an invitation to send delegations to Washington, D.C. in January and sit with federal representatives to work hard to come up with an agreement. The key action we need to deliver is an emergency drought-operating plan and that is what the governors agreed to do by February 15. The states will have the assistance of a federal team that will include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Corps of Engineers will review the plan and make suggestions. Then it will go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will have 30 days to review and render a biological opinion to ensure the conservation of endangered species.
One of the things we discussed was getting to a point of quantifying the water and then we can discuss allocating the water equitably. These three states’ problems are every bit as complex as the Colorado River Basin agreement [a recent pact between seven Western states to conserve and share Colorado river water brokered by Kempthorne]-and every bit as doable. But this process will need principals and governors with the will to do it. And they have that will. All three governors are doing what they are supposed to do: look out for the well-being of their respective states. But the fact that they are coming together to solve this issue shows that they are also good neighbors.
The governors have a history of divisiveness on this issue. How did the meeting go? I commend the three governors for standing together and saying ‘we will resolve this.’ It is far better for the three states to work as neighbors rather than having the federal government give a solution. It’s a serious issue. If they don’t work as neighbors, they will get to a point where the decisions are made by others. I’ve asked each state to send their best policy and technical people to meet in Washington in January to work with the respective federal agencies that are the decision makers and collaboratively craft this agreement. One of things different about this approach is that it won’t just be the three states by themselves. In the past when a state wanted to suggest a change, the review process was six months to a year. This way all the parties are in the room together. The president has placed such an emphasis on this that he asked me to help as a former governor who dealt with drought issues.
What are the states’ water needs? They range from drinking water, agricultural (including fisheries and the oyster industry), power supply, recreational and navigational. Certainly drinking water with the growth of Atlanta; there is a real need. Power supply is a key element for Alabama, which has a number of hydroelectric plants on the river system. Alabama has navigation needs, there are agricultural needs in the Flint River area and natural resources are key to Florida–the oyster beds and shrimp. And there is an interest in endangered species protection of three species of mussels and the Gulf sturgeon. You have two river systems in the region, so we are dealing with connectivity–both politically and hydrologically.
What is the grand scale long-term solution to regional water problems? One of the keys is conservation. Everyone needs to be aware that water is a finite resource and everyone needs to conserve. The states need to demonstrate their conservation; your neighboring state has to be doing as much to conserve. Each state should bring what they are doing so we can devise best practices. I’ve asked each of the states to bring to Washington next month a list of their best conservation practices to share with the other states. Ultimately, though, we in the federal government should be willing to facilitate a long-term agreement among the states that would spell out how water would be allocated among the states both in times of water scarcity and in times of abundance.
