ATLANTA —
Georgia’s legal tab for fighting neighboring Alabama and Florida in court over water rights is more than $6 million dollars.
The battle for Lake Lanier's water has cost Georgia millions in legal costs. (photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
The state attorney general’s office says $6.7 million has been paid to the Atlanta firm McKenna Long & Aldridge. It has handled litigation for Georgia over the battle for Lake Lanier’s water since 1996. In addition, the Atlanta Regional Commission has spent $5 million on the long-running court fight, which has extended nearly two decades.
The latest court decision came two weeks ago. A federal judge ruled metro Atlanta has been taking water illegally from the Lanier reservoir. Georgia has three years to either come to an agreement with neighbor states, or secure Congressional approval.
