Statewide water management plan not what we'd hoped for

By SANDY PHARR | The Darien News

As Georgia's population and economy continue to grow, the demands on water resources are bound to keep pace.

A recent poll conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia revealed that 81 percent of Georgians are "very concerned" that the state wouldn't have an adequate water supply in 10 years. The prolonged drought throughout the state of Georgia has made the situation that more urgent.

For this reason, we support the idea of a comprehensive statewide water management plan that protects our water supply while addressing anticipated growth. We need a fair plan, which recognizes that every place in Georgia has different water needs.

However, the plan that was overwhelmingly approved by the General Assembly last month is not the plan we would've liked to see.

In the first place, we need a plan that recognizes that water flows downhill. It should protect south and coastal Georgia from a water grab by thirsty industries and metropolitan areas upstream. The 16-county metro Atlanta area is required by law to live within its own means, but the new plan has no safeguards to prevent other populated areas that need water from siphoning it away from the areas where water is more plentiful. Inter-basin transfers, for example, would allow a rapidly growing region to drain neighboring watersheds for its own use.

We need a plan that is based on natural river basins. There are 14 distinct watersheds in Georgia, but the plan calls for only 11 regional service delivery districts, which do not correspond to the watershed boundaries sculpted by Mother Nature. Instead, the lines are drawn along political and man-made borders. This does not encourage communities that share a watershed to cooperate and plan ahead jointly.

We need a plan based on local representation, not "top-down" political appointments. According to the current plan, the 11 water management districts are to be overseen by 25 members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. We believe that citizen representatives need to be seated at the table, and that local legislators should have a say in the appointment process.

We need a plan that ensures good, clean water continues to flow into the Altamaha River from the headwaters, not for consumption, since we get our drinking water from the underground Floridan Aquifer. But, there has to be a certain minimum flow in our rivers and streams in order to maintain aquatic life. Brackish water, which is fresh water mixed with salt water, is the only kind of habitat in which many species of marine animals can live and thrive. If the populations of shrimp, crabs, clams, etc., die out, so will our fishing industry.

We need a plan that emphasizes conservation as a major means of water management day in and day out, not just when drought conditions are at their worst. The plan needs to include strict enforcement measures, because there are many Georgians who don't think twice about wasting water and squandering away one of our most important resources.

The plan that was approved by the state legislature in January provides for three years of study and evaluation. Members of the 11 water councils should take the opportunity to hammer out a strong data-based comprehensive statewide water management plan with plenty of teeth. Anything else, and it will be a useless and ineffective policy written on a piece of paper.