By CHARLES SEABROOK
Nov. 27, 2000 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)—Momentum is building toward making water — both quantity and quality — a major focus of the upcoming Georgia legislative session.
The push is coming from several sources and could eventually lead to major new legislation to help clean up state waterways and ensure adequate water supply for the future. It could also mean economic and lifestyle impacts for state residents.
An ambitious proposal by a coalition of business and political leaders to clean up metro Atlanta's polluted water and at the same time allow the region to maintain its spectacular growth has landed in Gov. Roy Barnes' hands. The proposal includes calls for creation of a new water planning agency and stronger controls on storm-water runoff, but exactly what kind of legislation will eventually emerge is anyone's guess.
Other groups are pushing for a statewide water management plan. The Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association say there is a crucial need for a comprehensive and "clearly stated" water management strategy to ensure that all Georgians have "equitable access to a reliable supply of good quality water."
Now comes the latest chapter in the water saga —- a new study from Research Atlanta that suggests how the state should develop a statewide water plan and what should be included in it. Jim Kundell, a University of Georgia professor who led the study, says the report fits in with the other proposals.
As part of his study, Kundell and his colleagues reviewed water management programs in all 50 states. They found that half the states already have developed comprehensive state water management plans, are in the process of developing such plans or are considering doing so.
"As Georgia moves towards a statewide water plan, we can learn lessons from the other states," Kundell says.
The report identifies several lessons that can be gleaned from other states' experience. Some of the conclusions:
There are distinct benefits from having a statewide water plan. Such a strategy would help ensure adequate supplies of clean water for people, industry and fish.
Water planning efforts must happen at the state and local levels, with local plans fitting in with state and regional water strategies. "Other states have found that to comprehensively plan for the effective management of their water resources, regional and/or local water planning is necessary," Kundell says.
The plans must be adequately funded, implemented, enforced and updated to be effective.
Kundell says regional water management plans should be adopted especially for three of Georgia's water "hot spots," including:
A 24-county coastal area that depends on groundwater for consumption and industrial needs. A major concern is that heavy industrial use and population growth is depleting the groundwater, possibly allowing salt water to intrude into aquifers and contaminate the freshwater.
The Southwest Georgia farm belt, where heavy irrigation threatens to dry up the Flint River, whose surface flow depends largely on groundwater seeping from aquifers.
The metro Atlanta area, whose mushrooming growth is outstripping available water supplies and the ability of local rivers and streams to assimilate treated wastes.
This last concern was addressed in the new proposal by the 37-member Clean Water Initiative task force, appointed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Business Coalition. The task force's plan, presented to Barnes this month, might be a preview of what's to come for regional water planning in Georgia.
The plan calls for the Legislature to create a new Metro Atlanta Water Planning District, an independent water quality planning agency with jurisdiction encompassing 16 metro counties. Enforcement would remain with the state Environmental Protection Division. The district would be run by a board made up of 19 local elected officials and 16 appointed citizen members. It would create a $2 billion clean water fund to make money available to local governments to upgrade or build new sewage treatment plants and for other water quality-improving projects.
To help garner public support for its proposal, the group took out a full-page newspaper ad earlier this month proclaiming, "It's about clean water —- not politics" and explaining its position.
Political experts say that while the task force's proposal and some other water-related issues will generate attention at the 2001 General Assembly sessionn, a comprehensive state plan is not likely to emerge from the session. Rather, it might be developed over the next few years, they say.
Kundell, in fact, says the best approach may be for the Legislature to create a study committee and come back in the 2002 legislative session to kick off, in earnest, the effort toward a statewide water strategy.
Meanwhile, environmental groups are weighing in on what they say should be part of such a plan. The Georgia Conservancy, for instance, says the plan must address a number of specific state concerns, including:
Water conservation and efficiency.
Drinking water supplies.
Buffer zones along stream banks.
Maintaining and restoring natural stream flows.
Protection of swamps, marshes and other wetlands.
Groundwater protection.
Transferring water from one river basin to another.
In addition, the Conservancy and several other groups —- including the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the Georgia Wildlife Federation —- are pushing local governments and legislators to adopt what they call Georgia's Water Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights, say the groups, is several guiding principles that must be incorporated into every water-related decision in every sector. Some of the principles include:
Every Georgia citizen has the right to a clean and adequate water supply.
Economic prosperity depends on clean water.
Laws protecting water resources must be enforced.
Water policy decisions must be just and equitable. No person or community should bear a disproportionate share of any burden resulting from the water use of others.
Though Barnes has stressed both water quality and quantity issues, he has not indicated what kind of legislation he might propose. Aides say the governor is considering the various options.
Copyright 2000 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
