Open Waters

The case involving the distribution of water from the ACF system had fresh air breathed into by a federal judge last week.

The judge, in what is surely a dismaying decision for Georgia, said he should decide Atlanta's rights to the waters of man-made Lake Lanier prior to other aspects of the case over the ACF system moving forward.

In this, the judge gets to a central point in the long contentious battle between the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida over the water that flows through to the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint rivers.

Georgia has long argued that Lake Lanier, north of Atlanta and fed in part by the Chattahoochee was there to feed the sprawl of Atlanta, farming, fishing and navigation needs down river be darned.

Lake Lanier was Georgia's and as such, it was there for Atlanta's use as a water source as the city grew into the southern version of New York City or Los Angeles.

But as a drought took hold and Atlanta continued to scarf up the landscape, the city and its residents also absorbed so much water from the lake that it is rapidly becoming a pond.

An excellent example of this sprawl is Peachtree City south of Atlanta, now a metropolis of concrete where agricultural and forest land filled the open spaces 30-35 years ago.

Florida and Alabama on the other hand have long contended that Lake Lanier was part of the ACF system from the get-go, a critical part and as such should be treated as if jointly owned by the stakeholders in the system, in the case at the extreme southern end of the system, the seafood industry.

An industry already buffeted by a net ban passed by special interests and championed by a state legislator now governor and which has displaced lives in favor of recreational pursuits.

Simply put, the entire issue over the rights to the water of Lake Lanier, a creation of the federal government through damming a valley and flooding it, has long been perceived as another slap at the seafood industry, another attempt to stamp out livelihoods.

To couch the argument in terms of mussels and plants is off base - this is about the ability to put food on the table, to place a roof over heads, to ply a trade.

So, the judge, in telling all parties - including the Corps - to cool their jets while he decides the rights to Lake Lanier is a positive for all concerned, though folks in Georgia aren't likely to that mindset.

The courtroom is the proper venue for determining what each of the three states has staked out, to varying degrees and methods, as a property rights issue.

May this judge, and his decision, be a wise one. By deciding to tackle this central question of rights to the waters of Lake Lanier, he's off to a good start.