State must be unified, leader says

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor exhorts Georgians to work together to win concessions in interstate water talks

Web posted January 21, 1999

Associated Press

ALBANY, Ga. -- More than 300 people, many of them farmers, crowded into a regional water meeting Wednesday to make sure their interests are being represented in Georgia's ongoing water-sharing talks with Florida and Alabama.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor told the group that the state will lose if Georgians don't ``speak with one voice'' on the state's water needs.

Unity will give the state more bargaining power in the tri-state talks, he said.

``The most critical work for southwest Georgia is going on in this building,'' said Mr. Taylor, an Albany Democrat. ``Let's not pull punches here. ... We have a lot to gain and a lot to lose.''

The three states have been negotiating for seven years on how to allocate water from the Chattahoochee-Flint-Apalachicola and Coosa-Tallapoosa-Alabama river basins. They originally set a Dec. 31, 1998, deadline, but extended it 12 months.

Mr. Taylor was the first speaker at the daylong Southwest Georgia Water Summit at Albany Technical Institute. The purpose of the meeting was to define the water needs of rural southwest Georgia, where farmers are highly dependent on irrigation to grow their crops.

After a morning of speeches, the delegates -- representing farming, industry and several government agencies -- met in small groups to discuss specific needs.

Mr. Taylor said Georgians shouldn't let water become a divisive issue. People in south Georgia often complain that their needs are overlooked because rural Georgia tends to lag behind north Georgia in economic and population growth.

``My message today is that we have to hang together on this issue,'' he said in an interview. ``If north Georgia aligns with Alabama, we will lose bargaining power. This is an issue that could easily wind up in the hands of lawyers and judges. None of us win if this goes to the Supreme Court and is tied up for 15 years.''

Bob Kerr, Georgia's chief negotiator in the water talks with Alabama and Florida, said he's optimistic a deal will be reached before the new deadline.

All three states have new governors, he noted. ``They know each other, and they respect each other. They come to the table without any baggage.''

Mr. Kerr said water is vital for human consumption, hydroelectric power, economic growth, environmental quality and recreation. He predicted all Georgians will have to share the ``pain'' of managing the valuable resource.

``As we look to 2050, we have determined in our modeling that irrigation can make the Flint River run dry,'' Mr. Kerr said.

Farmers, concerned that water restrictions could deprive them of the water they need for irrigation, attended the meeting in droves.

Mitchell County farmer James Lee Adams said he opposes water restrictions but realizes it's not an unlimited resource.

``I don't want to lose my peanut quota. I don't want to lose my corn base,'' he said. ``But if I did, it wouldn't put me out of business. But if I lose water, I'm out of business. That's how important it is.''

Former Georgia Congressman Lindsay Thomas, the federal government's representative in the tri-state water talks, said water will be the most important natural resource in years to come.

``You don't make water. You don't create water,'' he said. ``People are not going to come to a place that has no water.''

Mr. Thomas, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said he's confident the governors can reach an agreement.

``This is not just a chance to be more involved in stream flow and water quality. This is a chance to improve the water quality of the whole watershed,'' he said.