Since a judge concluded that the Army Corps of Engineers' policy of providing water from Lake Lanier to metro Atlanta was illegal, laws governing other corps lakes are being re-examined.

"It was a question that was being asked right away," said corps spokesman Billy Birdwell of the Savannah District, which includes Lakes Thurmond, Russell and Hartwell, above Augusta.

According to corps records, all three lakes are authorized to provide municipalities with drinking water, though such uses are minimal and nowhere near the volume pumped from Lanier to accommodate 4 million residents.

The 97-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson declared Atlanta's withdrawals from Lake Lanier illegal because the lake was never authorized by Congress for water supply.

"As you can imagine, given the ruling, we're in re-evaluation mode to find out what is authorized and what is not authorized," said Rob Holland, a spokesman for the corps' South Atlantic Division office.

According to a report from the corps' Hydrologic Engineering Center , the Savannah lakes all cite the 1958 Rivers & Harbors Act as the legal authority to provide water to cities, if called on to do so.

Lake Lanier cites the 1946 Rivers & Harbors Act.

"Three things that were in that authorizing legislation were navigation, hydropower and flood control," Mr. Holland said. "Those are the only three, and there are those who have argued they are the only legitimate ones. There were, however, subsequent laws passed that

seemed, to those of us interpreting them, to give us authority to certain other things."

That subsequent law, he said, was the Water Supply Act, which the corps contended would allow Lanier's use as Atlanta's water source.

Judge Magnuson disagreed, saying that unless Georgia can obtain congressional approval for continued withdrawals, they must cease within three years.

The lakes along the Savannah River should remain free from legal challenges to their uses because virtually all of them have the requisite congressional authorization, Mr. Birdwell said.

Thurmond, for example, was already authorized for uses including flood control, hydropower and navigation. Purposes added later were recreation (1986), water quality (1972), water supply (1958)

and fish and wildlife management (1986).

Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.