No Water Grabs!
On March 10, 66 Representatives and 24 Senators introduced the River Basin Protection Act of 2010, a bill designed to regulate interbasin water transfers and assure all Georgia communities that their water supplies will be protected from harmful upstream water diversions and transfers.
Both HB 1301 and SB 462 faced a difficult road during the session as Sen. Ross Tolleson (chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Lynn Smith (chair of the House Natural Reosurces Committee) refused to give the bills a hearing. Ultimately, both bills died without a hearing.
River Basin Protection Act Quick Fact Sheet
Sign the Petition
More than 2,000 citizens have signed an online petition in support of this legislation. To sign the petition, go to http://www.nowatergrabs.com/ Your signature will be delivered to representatives and senators when this bill comes up for a vote in committee meetings held before March 25.
Grand Theft Water
Each day in Georgia millions of gallons of water are stolen from our rivers and the communities that depend upon them through a process known as “interbasin transfer.” Water is removed from one river, piped to communities along another river and never returned.
The Chattahoochee River and the communities of LaGrange, West Point and Columbus: robbed of 47 million gallons per day (MGD). The Etowah River and the communities of Cartersville and Rome: hijacked of 16 MGD.
Recently proposals would expand Georgia’s interbasin transfer pipeline to meet the water needs of Metro Atlanta. Proposals being considered by state leaders include a transfer of 50 MGD from North Georgia’s Lake Burton and the Tallulah River, 100 MGD from Lake Hartwell on the Savannah River, 250 MGD from the Tennessee River and 200 MGD from South Georgia wells.
Georgia's Interbasin Transfer Laws
These proposals come at a time when Georgia still does not have strong guidelines in place to determine whether these transfers are safe for our rivers and pose no threat to the current or future economic prospects of downstream communities.
In fact, Georgia’s current interbasin transfer permitting system has been lampooned as the “press release permit.” All that is required to obtain a permit from the state to conduct an interbasin transfer is the publication of a public notice in newspapers near the site of the transfer. GEORGIA NEEDS STRONGER REGULATION OF INTERBASIN TRANSFERS TODAY!
Learn more about Georgia's existing laws on interbasin transfers.
Interbasin Transfers: A Threat to Our Rivers, Our Communities
Interbasin Transfers…
• threaten the prosperity of downstream communities
• threaten the health of our rivers, fisheries and wildlife
• create political conflicts within our state and with neighboring states
• promote the inefficient use of water and energy
• waste fiscal resources of state and local governments
If we fail to act and if current proposals move forward without oversight irreparable harm could be done to our rivers and the communities throughout the state that depend upon them.
Learn about interbasin transfer catastrophes around the world.
