Fresh Loaf

The statewide water plan that is being discussed — be sure to get your comments in because they close at the end of today — has thrown kerosene onto the “Atlanta-is-an-all-consuming-monster” argument that has echoed for years throughout Georgia. And a last-minute change to the plan by the state that critics viewed as sharing water based on economic needs rather than watersheds has become a chief concern among many.

In Macon last night, residents weren’t too happy.

From the Macon Telegraph:

“How can you manage water quality when you are crisscrossing river basins like that?” asked Bud Queen, president of the High Falls/Towaliga Watershed Alliance. Queen argued that such a system is unfair to Georgians living in the southern half of the state, because they won’t have a say in how water is used upstream.

Having a lot of say in how that water is used will be regional councils, and it’s who makes up those councils that concerns people. According to the draft plan, the councils will have no more than 18 members and three alternates selected from a pool of people nominated by leaders from a variety of industrial, business, environment and government groups, among others. The governor picks 10, the lieutenant governor selects 4, and the house speaker chooses 4, and each chooses one of the alternates. And it’s that odd hybrid model of people-suggestin’/guvmint-selectin’ council-building that has people angry.

Then there’s that growth issue. In the minds of business leaders and the state, just as worrisome as running out of water is the idea of running out of growth. Georgia’s built on the stuff, and our fellow citizens south of Macon know that. Quite frankly, it scares them.

And while the talk coming out of panel discussions and county commissions centers largely on encouraging a permanent mind-set of conservation — as in, “Residents, you must learn to live on less” — there’s been little talk of what’ll happen with industrial or commercial entities. One can only assume those sectors are tapping their fingers on their desks and waiting for things to get back to normal. A member on Monday’s panel at the chamber said residents will only take the brown-lawn lifestyle for so long. It’s still unknown how businesses feel about it and what their bottom line is telling them.

The Georgia Water Council finalizes the plan Jan. 8. The General Assembly gets to hear it first thing at the start of the legislative session. To read the draft plan, view comments and submit your own, click here.

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Tags: drought, Macon-Telegraph, Metropolitan-North-Georgia-Water-District.