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The Tri State Water War

Decent Essays

Tri-State Water War
Nathan A. Smith
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Thesis: Georgia should be able to continue their withdrawals from Lake Lanier and the water basins because of their water supply needs for irrigating its crops in the south, flood control, and sustaining its rapidly growing population in the metro Atlanta area.

Epa, U. (2013). Georgia: Upper Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, (2). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.epa.gov/ncer/events/calendar/2013/feb26/metchis2.pdf In the past, Georgia has experienced several droughts that impacted Georgia economically and politically. Because of this, states and counties downstream have been harmed …show more content…

Lund, N. (n.d.). Georgia Battles Back in Tri-State Water Wars. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://masglp.olemiss.edu/Water%20Log/WL31/31.3Tristate_Water_Wars.htm Lake Lanier is a large reservoir that serves many purposes including the following: flood control, power generation, recreation, water supply, and water storage. The US Army Corps of Engineers allowed Georgia to withdraw water from Lake Lanier. However, Alabama and Florida filed a lawsuit against the Corps due to the fact that Georgia was withdrawing water from Lake Lanier which decreased the downstream levels. In the 2009 ruling, Georgia as increased their withdraw amount to the point exceeding WSA which affected the hydropower generation. In the 11th circuit Appeal, Georgians were given hope in an increase in withdraws from Lake Lanier, but in the end, the Corps repudiated Georgia’s request. However, there was a problem with the law so the Corps is reevaluating Georgia’s request. Georgia has responsibility issues between water storage and hydropower generation. Alabama, Florida, and Georgia will wait for the Corps decision on the case before they do anything else. This source is useful because it gives detail at the time the Buford dam was created, the 2009 ruling, and the 11th Circuit Appeal. Compared to the other sources, this source details out the specifics of the purpose of the dam and how

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