Tri-state water wars: Act now on water contingency plans
AJC 5/17/10
“Conservation is an important first and ongoing step, but the governor’s water task force is correct in pointing out that a growing area like ours also needs to look at ways to increase supply. That’s especially important given the pending chance of a 2012 slowdown of water from embattled Lake Lanier.”
Atlanta Forward / Another View: Water efficiency delivers supply at lower cost
AJC 5/17/10
“We need to invest in our water future now and build on this forward momentum by implementing more of the recommendations outlined in the Governor’s Water Contingency Task Force report. Our next steps should be to stop wasteful water system leaks.”
Political Notes: May 2010
Georgia Trend, May 2010
The Water Stewardship Act of 2010, passed by the General Assembly, has won praise from the Georgia Conservancy and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
Final rush being sorted after legislative session
The Augusta Chronicle-- 5/4/10
Groups such as the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce hailed the passage of water conservation legislation, a transportation sales tax and ethics measures for legislators and school board members. Others such as AARP decried the elimination of a "refund" from the low-income credit on state income tax returns that will keep an estimated 1 million poor Georgians from getting checks that average $26 to $52 per year.
For Georgia businesses, 2010 state legislative session a winner
AJC 4/29/10
Renay Blumenthal, senior vice president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, called business legislative priorities "major quality-of-life issues."
"These are things we talk to corporate prospects about" regarding relocations or expansions, she said. "If we don't keep our house in order, those are the things that might keep us off the short list."
Water Stewardship Act a Strong First Step, More Green Steps Needed
Saporta Report 4/27/10
We worked with the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Apartment Association, the Georgia Agri-Business Council and a host of other business leaders to draft a bill that would save millions of gallons of water a year and demonstrate to the states of Florida and Alabama that we are taking care of our downstream neighbors.
Secure Georgia's water future
The Florida Times-Union 4/23/10
We offer our joint congratulations to Gov. Sonny Perdue for successfully starting a new culture of conservation in Georgia with passage of the Water Stewardship Act.
Water hits boiling point
Chattanooga Times Free Press 4/6/10
To meet the problem, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue created regional water planning councils, including the Coosa-North Georgia Water Planning Council and the Georgia Water Contingency Task Force.
Georgia legislature passes nation’s premier water conservation package
The Weekly 3/19/10
The state House gave final approval Thursday to Senate Bill 370, the “Water Stewardship Act of 2010,” by a vote of 153 to eight.
Jobs at heart of Ga. water transfer issue
Augusta Chronicle 3/19/10
Final passage Thursday of Gov. Sonny Perdue's water-conservation bill represented a missed opportunity for down-stream communities to safeguard the flow of water -- and ultimately jobs, according to a handful of lawmakers representing the Upper Savannah River basin.
Legislative harmony over water dwindling
AJC - 3/15/10
The Metro Atlanta Chamber "vigorously" opposes the bill, which would "severely limit access to current water supplies for numerous communities in Georgia," according to President Sam Williams.
Georgia bill would restrict interbasin transfers
AJC - 3/8/10
The issue attracted attention last fall, when Gov. Sonny Perdue's Water Contingency Task Force reported that transferring water from the Savannah River basin to metro Atlanta was feasible but would cost more.
The governor's task force, appointed in October, was charged with identifying the best solutions to avoid water shortages.
A desire for jobs can unite Atlanta and rest of state
The Saporta Report - 2/12/10
This is what has happened with the Water Contingency Planning Task Force, according to Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
In that case, Gov. Sonny Perdue created a group of top business leaders who were directed to “analyze [the water] crisis as if it were a threat to their business,” according to the final report. Any action plan that causes political discomfort can be blamed on the business leaders who worked on the task force.
Lawmakers analyzing water conservation bill for Lake Lanier in detail
Florida Times-Union - 2/12/10
The ideas for the bill came from some of the suggestions produced by a
task force of business and environmental groups Perdue appointed last summer after a federal judge ruled cities near Atlanta had no right to withdraw water from Lake Lanier, giving them until 2012 to find other sources.
Perdue backs water conservation legislation, study of building new reservoirs
AJC - 2/4/10
Called the Georgia Water Stewardship Act, the bill stems from recommendations the governor’s Water Contingency Task Force announced late last year. Perdue formed the panel after a federal judge issued a stinging ruling in July against Georgia in its decades-old water rights dispute with Alabama and Florida.
Perdue unveils water-saving bill
Atlanta Business Chronicle - 2/4/10
Perdue said the bill is based on recommendations of a
task force of business, elected and environmentalist leaders he formed last fall after a federal judge ruled Lake Lanier off limits as a regional water supply for metro Atlanta, an order that could take effect as early as the summer of 2012.
Conservation key to water solution
Chattanooga Times Free Press - 2/4/10
The bill is based on suggestions from his own
Water Contingency Task Force and would help Georgia prepare for more droughts and the possible loss of water from Lake Lanier, Gov. Perdue said.
Task force co-chairman Tim Lowe, CEO of Lowe Engineers, said that conservation and supply measures such as the ones Gov. Perdue has proposed "will be critical to our ability to ensure access to clean, plentiful water supplies into the future."
Bill aims to save water: House and Senate leaders expected to introduce Water Stewardship Act today
Rome News-Tribune - 2/4/10
Many of its proposals are based on recommendations from a
task force formed after a federal court ruled the Atlanta region has no rights to drinking water from Lake Lanier. The state has until 2012 to halt withdrawals or resolve its long-running water dispute with Alabama and Florida.
Perdue proposes water-saving measures including low-flow toilets, faucets
Macon Telegraph - 2/4/10
It’s based on recommendations from a large
task force the governor convened last year, and it comes largely in response to a federal judge’s decree that metro Atlanta will face severely restricted access to one of its main water supplies, Lake Lanier, if the state can’t strike a new water-sharing deal with Florida and Alabama.
Plan B in the tri-state water dispute
Access North Ga. -- 1/15/10
Plan B is to parlay for some more time, says John Brock, who co-chairs the Governor's Water Contingency Task Force.
Maybe to 2015 or 2020, Brock says, which would get Georgia along the way to expanding existing reservoirs and building new ones, which is Plan A for right now.
Gold Dome 2010: Cleaning up the Capitol
Gainesville Times -- 1/10/10
Legislators are expected to get moving on various conservation measures recommended by the Governor's
Water Contingency Task Force.
Our region is not sitting still.
On a separate track, Gov. Sonny Perdue is pursuing legal appeals, congressional action and negotiations with Florida and Alabama. But the job of the Governor’s Water Contingency Task Force was to consider options if the judge’s ruling stands.
Manuel: Atlanta must conserve, not take
Savannah Morning News -- 12/13/09
Just before Thanksgiving, Gov. Sonny Perdue convened the second meeting of his Water Contingency Task Force, an ostensibly statewide group of more than 80 business and government leaders that includes just four representatives of conservation organizations and is weighted toward metro-area interests. State-hired consultants presented task force members with numerous water supply options and asked members to rank them.
Savannah frets over Atlanta's water plans
Savannah Morning News --12/13/09
The
Governor's Water Contingency Task Force met Friday to present its favored options for dealing with metro Atlanta's water crisis. In July, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson gave Georgia three years to either find a political solution to its ongoing water wars with Alabama and Florida or quit using Lake Lanier as a water source.
The 87-member task force Friday recommended how metro Atlanta could best find the 250 million gallons per day of water Lanier supplies. The group, composed mainly of business leaders, emphasized what it called the three C's:
-- Conserve: Aggressive conservation measures and reducing loss from leaks.
-- Capture: Expanding existing reservoirs and building new ones.
-- Control: Restrictions on outdoor water use and requirements for plumbing upgrades.
Tennessee River: last water option
Chattanooga Times Free Press -- 12/12/09
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and state water advisers told members of the Georgia Water Contingency Planning Task Force
on Friday that water transfers — including one proposed from the Tennessee River — are a last resort of alternatives to help the thirsty Peach State solve its water crisis.
“And at the end of it, it’s all about conservation, capture and control,” said John Brock, co-chairman of the water task force and chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola.
Perdue: Lake Lanier Georgia's best option for drinking water
AJC -- 12/11/09
Gov. Sonny Perdue declared Friday that Georgia’s best option in the tri-state water dispute is to fight to keep Lake Lanier as the Atlanta region's main source of drinking water.
Other options for capturing and controlling more water could cost the state billions of dollars and jack up water rates by as much as 54 percent, according to the governor’s
Water Contingency Task Force.
Perdue: No easy alternatives to Lake Lanier
Atlanta Business Chronicle -- 12/11/09
Lake Lanier remains the most economical and environmentally friendly water supply for metro Atlanta, Gov. Sonny Perdue said Friday during the final meeting of a
task force he created to look for alternatives.
The panel of business, political and environmentalist leaders was formed in October to identify conservation measures and water-supply projects the state could pursue if Georgia loses its appeal of a July court decision declaring the lake off-limits as a regional water supply.
Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, said there are no measures that can replace the region’s water supply from Lake Lanier by 2012. The 2015 timeframe might be doable, but it will be extremely expensive. So the task force seemed to favor planning for a 2020 plan.
“We could expand some of the existing reservoirs by raising the water levels by a couple of feet,” Williams said. As for new reservoirs and other more extreme measures, Williams said: “It’s a matter of economics. Let’s look at what economically has the less impact on citizens of the region.”
Group urges more conservation to fix water crisis
Associated Press -- 12/11/09
The Governor's
Water Contingency Task Force met for third time Friday while it tries to develop an alternative plan to using Lake Lanier. Georgia has been embroiled in a decades-long fight with Alabama and Florida over water rights.
-- 12/12/09
In recent weeks, a new threat has emerged - not only to Northeast Georgia and Lake Hartwell but also downstream to Lake Richard B. Russell, Clarks Hill Lake and the lower Savannah River basin - in the form of inter-basin water transfers, courtesy of Gov. Sonny Perdue and his hand-picked "task force" representing corporate and development interests from metropolitan Atlanta.
“We firmly believe this crisis can be dealt with, but it will take bold leadership and aggressive action,” task force co-chair J
ohn Brock, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, said in a statement after the meeting. “We are recommending specific steps to the Governor, but our work is not over. We will continue to work with the Governor as these recommendations are considered by the Georgia General Assembly.”
Water Task Force holds Final Meeting
WABE Radio -- 12/11/09
According to the state's
Water Contingency Task Force, even aggressive conservation won't get Georgia anywhere near closing the gap between its water demand and water supply by 2012. That's the deadline that a federal judge has given Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to work out their water dispute.
“We are vitally concerned about this pivotal moment in our state’s history,” said task force co-chair John Brock, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises.
“We firmly believe this crisis can be dealt with, but it will take bold leadership and aggressive action. We are recommending specific steps to the Governor, but our work is not over. We will continue to work with the Governor as these recommendations are considered by the Georgia General Assembly.”
Water warnings
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer - 12/09/09
Which brings us to the bad:
Georgia’s Water Contingency Task Force, convened just two months ago, is reported to be preparing to make its final recommendations before the Georgia General Assembly convenes … next month.
Middle Georgia rivers may be new water source for Atlanta
Macon Telegraph - 12/07/09
The Ocmulgee River flows from Atlanta through Middle Georgia before combining with the Oconee River to form the Altamaha River. Now a
task force seeking new water sources for Atlanta has listed Ocmulgee River tributaries as possible locations for a new reservoir, two expanded reservoirs and even a potential 54-mile pipeline from Jackson Lake to Gwinnett County.
Water is top priority for 2010 Metro Atlanta Chamber
WABE Radio - (audio included) - 12/04/09
In 2010, area business leaders need to push the state to fix its pressing water problems.
That was the message today as the
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 150th anniversary.