Water Wars Update – December 14, 2023

Many of you have seen an announcement that an agreement has been reached between Alabama and Georgia regarding the ongoing water wars. Several have asked if the “Water Wars” are over…the short answer is NO!

While the agreement may represent an end to a “battle”, there is another battle still taking place that directly affects the Coosa River Basin and Neely Henry Lake.

A federal judge has recently decided in favor of Georgia in a suit brought by the state of Alabama, Alabama Power, and the cities of Montgomery and Mobile regarding water flow in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River basin. This extends from the Alabama-Georgia line on Weiss Lake and goes approximately 650 miles south through Montgomery all the way to Mobile Bay, a much greater distance than the Apalachicola-Flint-Chattahoochee (ACF) River basin agreement you may have read about.

The issue is the amount of water being held in north Georgia and what would be available to flow into Alabama and the ACT basin during times of drought and what the environmental and economic impact could be on our communities and state.

There has been no word on “next steps” of this suit by the state of Alabama, APCO or the cities as yet. Stay tuned and we will try and keep you apprised of the developments.