News/Press Releases
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Recent UCR News
UCR Press Releases
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Recent UCR News
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Expects the Work of “The Sewer Mayor” to be Completed (Published in Creative Loafing online, 10/26/09)
Eight short years ago, Atlanta’s aging sewer system was a disgrace to its citizens and to the state of Georgia. It was also illegal. When Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR) sued the city of Atlanta in 1995 for violations of the Clean Water Act, hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage were routinely dumped into our streams and the river.
Although a federal judge ruled that the city had to clean up its act, then Mayor Bill Campbell did little but stall, leaving it to the next mayor to solve the problem, even while the judge threatened a moratorium on new development because Atlanta did not have the sewage infrastructure to support such development.
When Mayor Shirley Franklin took office 8 years ago, it was a welcome change for UCR to finally find a real partner in the massive sewer repair and rehabilitation. The new Mayor even called herself “The Sewer Mayor,” and was not willing to pass on this problem to yet another generation. Mayor Franklin also undertook an aggressive program to rebuild Atlanta’s drinking water system at the same time the city overhauled its sewage system.
Both these expensive public works programs received less than half a percent of their total cost (funding) from the federal government and low-interest loans from the state. Atlantans taxed themselves to pay for it, and the work to date - done on time and within budget – has been “remarkable,” as observed by the federal judge in charge of overseeing the work. Anyone who tells you different is selling something other than clean water.
Atlanta’s next mayor must be someone who understands the progress we’ve made and who is determined to finish the job. Whatever anyone may think of Mayor Franklin’s performance on any other issue, both voters and candidates for mayor need to keep this in mind: under her leadership, with the hard work of the Department of Watershed Management, the end is in sight for Atlanta’s polluting of the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries.
This work will vastly improve water quality for Atlantans, the metro region, and downstream communities. It will be up to the next mayor to make good on the investment Atlanta has made so far by completing this work by the deadlines established in the federal consent that settled UCR’s lawsuit. Failure to finish this work in a timely basis could result in direct court supervision of its completion, with no regard to political or local economic considerations, a step the judge has made plain he will not hesitate to invoke.
Judicial Ruling Forces Tri-State Water Issue (published in UCR's Fall 2009 RiverCHAT)
On July 17, 2009, federal judge Paul Magnuson answered the key question that has loomed over the 20-year tri-state water war among Georgia, Alabama and Florida—how much of the water in Lake Lanier can be used legally for metro Atlanta water supply?
His answer was stunning: none.
In a 97-page order, Magnuson chronicles the history of Lake Lanier from its authorization by Congress in 1945 for hydropower, flood control and navigation, to Atlanta Mayor Hartsfield’s decision in the 1950s against city financial support for the lake project—a miscalculation that has undermined Atlanta’s claim that it should be able to use the reservoir for water supply. Magnuson concludes that in allowing Atlanta to withdraw water from Lanier for water supply, the Corps of Engineers acted illegally.
“As we all learned in grade school, the separation of powers is fundamental to our federal government… Congress authorized and paid for Buford Dam and gave the Corps of Engineers the authority to operate the dam. Congress specified, however, that… if the Corps believed that it must operate the project in a manner contrary to Congress’ initial authorization of the project, it must so inform Congress and secure Congress’ permission to do so… Congressional approval of the reallocation of storage in Lake Lanier is required.” (Magnuson order)
Despite the clear need for Georgia to secure Congressional approval to use water from Lake Lanier to supply metro Atlanta, state leaders failed to seek such authorization, even as the region’s population exploded in the past two decades. Instead, the state vigorously pursued a doomed legal strategy, with no plan “b”.
A Wake-Up Call
Grandstanding and chest-beating by officials in all three states dominated the news in the months following the ruling. This behavior further entrenched old resentments at a time when the states needed to focus instead on solutions to share the water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin.
As draconian as the Magnuson ruling may appear, it has provided an unprecedented opportunity—some might even call it a mandate—to advance sustainable water management strategies in the ACF Basin. To accomplish this goal, Georgia must be willing to deemphasize litigation and, instead, emphasize smart, cost-effective water supply solutions, over long-term, expensive and risky ones.
The 15-county metro region has had a wake-up call that cannot be ignored. Judge Magnuson gave Georgia (read: metro Atlanta) until July 2012 to resolve its water supply problems; if this doesn’t happen, some areas in the region, as well as downstream, will be out of water and others could experience stringent water rationing.
Common Sense Solutions
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has been involved with the tri-state water issue for 15 years, focusing on the policy, scientific and legal decisions needed to fairly allocate the water in the ACF Basin among competing users, while leaving enough clean water in the rivers to support healthy ecosystems.
Instead of continuing to point fingers at the other states, Georgia officials must admit that metro Atlanta has a serious water problem—due to its small watershed, growing population, sprawling development, and higher than average use of water and energy (generated at water-consuming power plants).
Next, a package of conservation measures must be adopted by the state legislature in 2010. UCR and other leaders of the Georgia Water Coalition met in late August with Governor Perdue to recommend specific action items that, collectively, will yield significant water savings for the 15-county metro region. Once adopted, this legislation should help assure communities downstream in the ACF Basin that Georgia is serious about making better use of limited water supplies.
Conservation alone will not satisfy all of Atlanta’s future water demands. Officials also must evaluate existing water supply sources to determine their maximum yield, including the possibility of raising the pool at Lake Lanier, in addition to reallocating some storage for metro water supply. These actions that will require Congressional approval and direction to the Corps regarding its operation of Buford Dam and other federal reservoirs in the system, as well as careful consideration of instream flows needed to support all uses, including water quality, recreation and fishing.
Finally, but essentially, Georgia must take the lead in securing agreement among the states and government agencies on a uniform, basin-wide approach to data collection, measurement and modeling. You cannot responsibly and adaptively manage something that you do not measure and monitor.
The above solutions do not represent all the actions that must be taken to resolve the tri-state water wars; however, they are common sense strategies that can be implemented during the final year of the Perdue Administration, if there is sufficient political will.
UCR Press Releases
7th Annual Back to the Chattahoochee River Race & Festival Will Be June 13, 2009
SweetWater Brewery Holds 4th Annual Save the Hooch Campaign (5/12/09)
Riot Atlanta Named River Rock Star by UCR (5/11/09)
UCR to Hold River Revival Watershed Sessions on May 14, (4/10/09)
Wild and Scenic Film Festival Comes to Atlanta March 4-5, 2009
River Groups Urge Metro District to Get Serious About Water Planning (1/14/09)
Links to a Selection of River-Related News Stories
Atlanta attorney tapped to lead EPD - Savannah Morning News, 10/27/09
Couch resigns as environmental protection director, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/19/09
Atlanta's Sewers Need State and Federal Aid - Atlanta Journal-Constitution Op-Ed by Sally Bethea, 10/6/09
Hall County oasis could disappear under lake - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10-6-09
Judge again rules against Georgia in water fight - Atlanta Journal-Constiturion, 10-5-09
Sewage plants swamped in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinett - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/22/09
Federal judge rules against Georgia in water legislation - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/17/09
Metro Atlanta water plan draws protesters - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/15/09
With lake tapped out, we can’t just go with flow” - by Jeff Seabright and Rob Hunter - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/2/09
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