If you don’t understand all this concern over water, you really need to listen to this interview. Neill Herring, as a veteran environmental lobbyist, was present at the creation–so to speak. Neill is a lobbyist for several Riverkeeper organizations, the Sierra Club and other groups and organizations concerned about the environment, natural resources and, of course, water.
The story is one of deception, not only of the people of Georgia, but whole states: Florida and Alabama. I am not sure I can even summarize the history well enough to do the story justice, so listen to the interview. The following is just an overview.
I am sure that most of us have heard something about the water disputes with Alabama and Florida, and the various efforts to resolve them. They have been going on since the 1970’s and never get resolved, primarily because Georgia (Atlanta) doesn’t want them resolved. Instead Georgia has probably mislead its neighbors for years, if not decades, into believing that Georgia would work in good faith to get the water disputes settled. But what Georgia really wanted was not a resolution, but delay and time. Time for Atlanta to build and grow and build and grow some more, so that whenever that day of resolution came, Atlanta would have the right to demand as much water as possible based on its current needs, not the need a decade ago.
This worked until Alabama finally woke up and is now threatening litigation in the Supreme Court of the United States where disputes between states are resolved.
The big player: Georgia Power. Half of the electricity sold by GP is in metro Atlanta. Have of all the electricity sold by The Southern Company is in Georgia. Thus, a fourth of The Southern Company’s success is due to the growth in Atlanta.
And that is the Water War with AL and FL. It is just a part of the Water War going on inside the State, but the fundamental principles are the same. Atlanta doesn’t have enough water to continue growing and for it to continue growing, it has got to get someone else’s water. Atlanta is at its limit, now, not 20 years from now. And Atlanta and the powers that be are doing everything they can to get control of more water so it can keep growing. If they get their way, streams and rivers will become mud bogs or worse.
Did you know the Flint River starts under Atlanta International Airport? The Ocmulgee starts in another part of Atlanta. I think Neill said 6 rivers supply some form of water to the Metro Water District, and yet, it is the Metro District that Neill says is left out of the Water Plan. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle told me last week the Metro District was not left out, it was just grandfathered in. Whatever, it still seems suspicious to me. Grandfathering something in generally means you can’t control or change it and that just makes no sense if the Water Plan is intended as some comprehensive. Neill says the plan proposed by the Water Council is nothing more than an idea without funding.
And exactly who are the central players in this watery game? The politicians, of course. They get to decide what to do with the Water Plan. They get to decide what constitutional amendment to sneak by us with language that says one thing and means another.
On the side of Atlanta and the developers are House Speaker Glenn Richardson and House Majority Leader Jerry Keene. According to Neill, these politicians, and others who desire statewide office, can’t accomplish those personal goals without the support of the “Atlanta Growth Industry.” Those are the guys that want to build the buildings, that have the people, that use the plumbing, that require the water. They are the fat cats, the insiders, the power brokers, the guys that have the money to insure they get what they want.
How do the people stop the politicians from doing what is great for Atlanta and disasterous for the rest of the state? According to Neill, people are beginning to understand the significance of this battle, especially those outside the Metro Water District. People are beginning to pay attention. The key is to let your local legislator know that the quickest way to retirement politically is to pee in the water.
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