For Immediate Release
June 1, 2010
Contact: Tanya Dunne
404-586-8471
tdunne@macoc.com
Water Stewardship Act is a Good First Step
Toward Securing Our Water Future
ATLANTA – The Governor's Water Stewardship Act of 2010 -- based on the recommendations of the Water Contingency Planning Task Force co-chaired by Coca-Cola Enterprises’ John Brock and Tim Lowe of Lowe Engineers – was signed today by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
“This critical piece of legislation sends a signal to Alabama and Florida that we are serious about conservation,” said John Brock, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., and the 2011 Metro Atlanta Chamber chairman-elect. “While conservation and efficiency alone will not resolve our water-supply issues if the judge’s order goes into effect, they are good first steps and critical for our discussions with our downstream neighbors.”
The law will encourage water conservation, reduce wasteful loss and incentivize innovation in both increasing water supply and lessening demand.
“While we have much to celebrate today, there is much more that still needs to be done,” said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We must continue to focus on the three C’s –conserve, capture and control – as well as the governor’s multi-prong strategy to negotiate, appeal, reauthorize and plan.”
The Water Contingency Planning Task Force, led by more than 80 business, environmental and government officials, studied a long list of options, and supported a three part strategy – conserve, capture and control.
- conserve - aggressive conservation & fixing leaks
- capture - expanding existing reservoirs & building new ones
- control – manage our water supplies through progressive water policies
The governor and the General Assembly embraced these water-saving ideas and created the Water Stewardship Act of 2010, which passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate.
Government, water providers, and the agriculture, business and conservation communities worked together to craft the final piece of legislation and support its passage, added Brock. The act was a great demonstration of consensus-building with key stakeholders for our water future.
Last July, Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier for drinking water could be limited in 2012. If the judge’s ruling is allowed to stand as currently written, metro Atlanta alone would take a $26 billion annual hit to its economy, causing a devastating ripple effect throughout Georgia and the Southeast.
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Metro Atlanta Chamber -- The Metro Atlanta Chamber brings the best together to help Atlanta thrive. We mobilize and connect the business community to drive economic development and public policies that promote sustainable growth. Our board draws from Atlanta’s top business leaders. We have a professional staff of 90 and serve 4,000 member companies who employ nearly a million workers. In Economic Development, our project managers attract the best companies and the best jobs. In Public Policy, we tackle crisis issues and critical quality-of-life challenges such as transportation, water and education. For our members, we offer 150+ events and activities each year to help them connect and make business contacts. In sports, MAC’s Atlanta Sports Council has helped drive almost $2 billion in economic impact over the past 10 years by hosting major sporting events. In 2009, the Chamber celebrated 150 years of bringing Atlanta leaders together.