LETTER: Perdue’s metro task force eyes Northeast Georgia water

In recent weeks, a new threat has emerged – not only to Northeast Georgia and Lake Hartwell but also downstream to Lake Richard B. Russell, Clarks Hill Lake and the lower Savannah River basin – in the form of inter-basin water transfers, courtesy of Gov. Perdue and his hand-picked “task force” representing corporate and development interests from metropolitan Atlanta.

Eight years ago, state Rep. Tom McCall (R-Elberton) and I sponsored a legislative amendment making inter-basin transfers illegal in Georgia, with the intention of permanently outlawing the practice of taking water from one area of the state to another.

Two years ago, the General Assembly passed and Gov. Perdue signed into law a statewide water plan that established 10 regional water councils across the state for the purpose of protecting our most precious natural resource now and in the future. The councils are to report their findings to the state Environmental Protection Division, which in turn will formulate a water plan for the entire state.

But like thieves in the night, plotting to ignore the state law strictly prohibiting inter-basin transfers and the diligent work of the regional water councils, the governor’s task force has issued a recommendation for siphoning off hundreds of millions of gallons of water from Lake Burton in Rabun County and Lake Hartwell and sending it to Gwinnett County and the eastern side of the metro area. The governor’s group also proposes transferring water from aquifers in southwest Georgia to metro Atlanta.

If the task force, which was created not by legislative statute but by the Governor’s Office, is successful in changing the law to allow inter-basin transfers and in circumventing the regional water council process, it could lead to permanently damaging the security of our water resources from the mountains of Rabun County to the ports of Savannah and would be a sad commentary on the credibility of state government in addressing such a critical issue.

Many of you are well aware that I have been fighting for the last 20 years and warning that this day could come, when powerful special interests in metro Atlanta would launch an effort to take water out of the Savannah River basin to satisfy the perception that more water is needed there to accommodate growth. This is an unnatural, artificial approach to solving metro Atlanta’s problem, which was caused by poor planning and a lack of conservation over the past 30 years.

Rep. McCall and I, along with other colleagues, knew this would happen, which is why we prepared for it with the legislation banning such transfers.

But with Gov. Perdue and his powerful allies in the metropolitan area apparently prepared to go in a different direction, we need to gear up for another fight. Everyone in Northeast Georgia should consider this a “call to arms.” This is no longer just about beauty and recreation; the future supply of drinking water and economic development for communities up and down the Savannah River is at stake.

Take a good look at Lake Hartwell in all its abundance today and remember what it looked like last year when it was 23 feet lower. Better yet, take a photograph. If the governor and his friends have their way, today’s scene could become a thing of the past.

Rep. Alan Powell (D-Hartwell) represents the 29th District (Franklin, Hart and Madison counties) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact him at 507 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0202 or by e-mail at alanpowell23@hotmail.com. For more information, visit www.alanpowell.net.