Comments on: “Water judge” way out of line

By: LakeLady

LakeLady — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:35:02 +0000

“Dawgfan

Georgia’s land owners should store the water before it ever reaches Lanier.”

Those of us who live downstream and who are GEORGIA LAND OWNERS would also like some water. For the farmers, the beef growers and those of us who just “live here”.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:08:17 +0000

The judges decision was dead on right. Its always been clear – if you’ve read the documents, that Lanier wasn’t built as a water supply for Atlanta. And it was even stated at the time, that if Atlanta later needed the water, it would have to go back to Congress and get specific authorization to do so. This is a problem for Congress, not a problem for the state governments.

By: AlphaOmega

AlphaOmega — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:32:03 +0000

First, Mr. Barr, have you read the decision? I am confused as to what exactly GA is appealing – that has not been made clear in any reporting by any stretch. My reading of the decision was that the ruling was really narrow (which all good legal rulings are): Why was Buford/Lanier built, or, put another way, was it built to provide water supply for ATL? Based on extensive documentary evidence, the Judge reached a decision: Buford/Lanier was not built for water supply, but was built for flood control/navigation/hydro power. “The Minnesotan” is simply interpreting law and legal documents – if you don’t like strict and informed interpretations, find yourself an activist judge who doesn’t have a good crew of law clerks and researchers.

Last, Mr. Barr, you also seem to be a few short steps away from calling “The Minnesotan” a carpetbagger. I don’t think it’s by mistake that you mention his home twice in this post, and I recall you made mention of it in at least another post. I am loath to see that go further with talk about other judicial decisions by outsiders that fundamentally challenged the status quo in these parts, But with the antics whipped up during the health care debate, I cease to be amazed by the possibilities.

By: rdh

rdh — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:55:55 +0000

The Atlanta Metro Area…. and Gwinnett in particular… went into water grab mode in early 1990’s fully expecting that their use of water would be grandfathered in… whatever the outcome. They were wrong.
Now, in order to come up with enough water for the current residents (much less for future growth), we are going to have to dam up every creek and stream flowing into the Chattahoochee and Etowah rivers. The crazy thing is… THAT would be legal. We can’t take water out of the lakes or dam up those rivers, but we can dam creeks/streams and springs that feed those rivers. What an asinine situation!

Alabama and Florida (and South Georgia) have no incentive whatsoever to allow Georgia to have any water at all from the Corp lakes or rivers. There will be no agreement. There will be no new growth. The economic engine of Georgia has just stalled. The best we can hope for is to get enough water to supply our current needs.

By: ATL

ATL — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:49:41 +0000

Mr. Barr, you hit the nail squarely on the head. Your analysis is 100% correct.

By: sam

sam — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:41:03 +0000

let me guess, beowulf was on the atlanta area planning commission at some point? maybe even member for life..

By: DebbieDoRight

DebbieDoRight — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:16:40 +0000

Alternatives…you mean like the Tennessee River?

No. I’m talking something along the lines that a state like Nevada and New Mexico have. Start with conservation ideas and go from there. We were the country that rebuilt it’s entire navy AND made it faster and stronger in a matter of Months after were bombed at Pearl Harbor — we can do this, we just need to try and stop whining about what we don’t have, roll up our sleeves, and get to work!

By: Jefferson

Jefferson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:51:30 +0000

While its good to have an opinion, in the end it won’t matter. What Georgia needs is a vision and a plan, something the money and special interests will sway the politicians to maintain the status quo.

By: Chris Broe

Chris Broe — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:51:30 +0000

The solution lies in a trip for the water judge to White Water. When he sees the fun that metro atlanta has with water, and can see for himself that we’re not wasting one drop, but instead using water in ways that no one has ever dreamed of, well, lets just say that he’ll realize how all-wet his decision was.

And if he persists in his “draconian” ways, then I suggest someone grab a hose and hose this clown down, and lets put whatever water we are left with to good use!

By: Beowulf

Beowulf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:46:22 +0000

Alternatives…you mean like the Tennessee River? Feasibly there is NOTHING that can replace Lanier completely. Besides, without Georgia using any of the water from Lanier, it is way more than Florida and Alabama would ever use even in the worst drought. Last year’s low caused a knee-jerk reaction from the media, doomsday type stuff. The worst drought we have on record and the reservoir was still more than half full. Even the most strident conservation efforts could not make Atlanta so that it did not need some water from the lake, unless you can find a way to make it so human beings don’t need water to survive.

Georgia made a big misstep a few years back when we tried to grab at a guaranteed % of the volume of the lake. That is what turned it all sour. We need to admit the stupidity of that, and the admirable job that Georgians did with conservation during that time is not commended nearly enough. Florida and Alabama did not even think about any restrictions, how much the double standard! That said, I am sure that we will work out an agreement, hopefully one that nobody really likes. Those are always the best types, and we can’t expect more from politicians.