Speaker: ‘Absolutely’ no connection between development and water shortage

Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson is the villain du jour — due primarily to his proposed tax plan. That’s why I interviewed him last week, and you can read my take on Richardson’s plan in this week’s Metropolis column.

But it’s impossible to talk to a state official nowadays without mentioning water, as in the fact that we have a shortage of the precious liquid. To people with at least a slight grasp on reality, the reasons are obvious. We have a drought. We have a very small water supply for such a large metro area. Our population has exploded in recent decades, stressing the already meager sources of water, primarily the Chattahoochee River.

Knowing that Richardson is firmly ground in Republican politics — as in, adjust scientific facts to accommodate radical ideology — I didn’t anticipate an attack on development when I asked him about the causes of the water shortage. But I was a little stunned at his response.

My question: “Do you think development has contributed to the water problems?”

Richardson rose from his seat. He’s a pretty animated conversationalist to begin with. But he became even more so, raising his hands as he proclaimed: “ABSOLUTELY NOT!”