Gov. Sonny Perdue and other government officials stood on landlocked boat ramps Oct. 20 at Mary Alice Park on Lake Lanier to declare a state of emergency in 85 of Georgia's counties due to the prolonged drought.
Perdue has also asked President Bush to declare a major disaster area in an effort to exempt the state from complying with the water reservoir releases that could cause "catastrophic harm."
"This drought is a natural disaster," Perdue said. "We are experiencing the worst drought in North Georgia's history. On top of that, we are also mired in a frustrating manmade disaster of Federal bureaucracy. The actions of the Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife services are not only irresponsible, but downright dangerous. And Georgia cannot stand for this negligence."
Perdue said more than 3.2 million gallons of water are released daily out of the Georgia reservoirs.
"That's enough to fill three and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools every minute," he said. "Even the consultation periods of changing these policies are just fiddling while Rome burns. Georgia needs action today."
On Oct. 19, Perdue filed an injunction with the Middle District of Florida Federal Court requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from Lanier and federal reservoirs.
"We need to cut through the tangle of unnecessary bureaucracy to manage our resources so that in the long term all species may have access to clean water," he said.
Perdue said current laws prohibit even heavy rains from helping the situation.
"The sad part is that if we got relieving rains," he said, "we could not save it. These are the silly parts of rules that we need to get around. That's why people have no confidence in government."
Rep. Nathan Deal agreed this was a "serious situation."
"This is a situation we have not confronted in a very long time," he said. "It is important to work with the federal government to find an immediate solution."
Millions of gallons of water have been shipped downstream in an effort to preserve endangered species of mussels. Many government officials said this has to stop.
"Wildlife officials have decided that mussels are more important than our children and grandchildren," said Rep. John Linder. "This is a serious problem."
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle agreed.
"This is not a situation we cannot conserve our way out of," he said. "The idea that individuals would put mussels in front of human consumption is absolutely and utterly ridiculous."
Jonathan Davis, operations manager for the Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Lanier, said the morning before Perdue's declaration that the Corps doesn't have the authority to deviate from the law in its mandated water releases that include protecting endangered species.
"But it does not mean we are doing it blindly and we are not aware of the impacts of that – that's my job and I can assure you I am doing that," he said.
The Corps is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-examine its study on endangered mussels and sturgeon downstream in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin, he said.
Perdue compared a lack of action to the situation Louisiana faced when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
"In asking for this disaster declaration, this is exactly what we failed to do in Katrina," he said. "The state of Louisiana was criticized for not asking for a declaration of disaster soon enough so our federal partners could get involved."
While Georgians are being forced to adhere to water restrictions, Perdue said it was wrong to allow Alabama and Florida residents to live without such restrictions.
"No one is sacrificing," he said. "No one is sharing the pain like the people in North Georgia are."
Perdue said Georgians will do what it takes to conserve water.
"Georgians will step up to the plate and do what it takes to conserve our previous resources," he said. "We need our federal partners to do the same and not continue to ship this water downstream when it is needed drastically here."
Carol Couch, Director of the Environmental Protection Division, said drinking water could become very scarce within 80 days.
"This is a natural disaster that did not happen overnight," she said. "This is something that happened slowly. We need the President to declare this as a disaster. It will be a multiple front effort that needs the federal government's help."
If water levels continue to drop, so will the certainty of clean water. Couch said water below a certain level requires further treatment and the quality at that level is unsure.
Lake Lanier will not run dry in just a few months, Davis told members of the Alpharetta Rotary Club, which includes several local elected officials.
Davis said the lake stores water in what is called its normal pool at 1,071 feet. The amount of water down to 1,035 feet is its conservation pool.
Corps experts in Mobile, Ala., who decide what flow of water should be released from the lake, calculated 100 days of water were left as of Oct. 19 before the lake got down to 1,035 feet.
"From 1,035 down to the bottom of the lake is still 100 feet of water," Davis said. "In other words, the lake will not be dry in 100 days."
Perdue said he was "confident" there would be a positive outcome for Georgia in this situation.
"We will emerge from this disaster stronger than before with a solution that will benefit all of Georgia's interests for years to come," he said.
For now, Perdue said Georgia will continue their conservation efforts to preserve water throughout the state.
Labels: Lake Lanier, Water Ban, Water Restrictions
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 1:41 PM
