Tue., October 27, 2009 11:35am (EDT)

Georgia Congressmen Call For Water Meeting

By Associated Press

Updated: 4 years ago

ATLANTA  —   Georgia’s congressional delegation has called for a meeting with fellow congressmen from Alabama and Florida over the issue of water-sharing between the three states. The invitation if accepted would set the table for a discussion to take place Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

The invitation comes from Gainesville Republican Nathan Deal and Atlanta Democrat John Lewis. They would head Georgia’s group opposite Alabama’s seven House members and the 25-member Florida delegation.

The two-decade-old water battle took a negative turn for Georgia this summer when a federal judge ruled metro Atlanta is not authorized to withdraw water from the Lake Lanier reservoir. The ruling gives the three states three years to hammer-out a water sharing deal. If not, Atlanta would lose much of its current amount of drinking water from the federal reservoir.