Georgia Looks To Neighbors For Water Supply

"Maximizing conservation is important, said Atlanta Regional Commission Director Chick Krautler. But with the metro area projected to add 2.5 million people by 2030, simply convincing them all to take seven-minute showers and water their lawns just once a week will not be enough.

'We need to be thinking seriously about where our next water supply is going to come from,' Krautler said. 'There aren't going to be any more Lake Laniers or big reservoirs made,' with the conversion of Atlanta's Bellwood Quarry being one possible exception. 'We've got these problems with Florida and Alabama, and we have to look long-term.'

Alabama and Florida have been battling Georgia in federal court since 1990 over the water in Lake Lanier, Atlanta's primary water source, and the Chattahoochee River and others connected to it. The 16 counties in the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District -- which includes Atlanta, and which the ARC staffs -- use 650 million gallons a day and will double that by 2030 to handle the anticipated population influx."