Florida, Georgia Water War Gears Up For Supreme Court Decision

Lawyers for Florida and Georgia met in court this week as a trial began over the states’ protracted water issues. The outcome will ultimately be handled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Is Atlanta hogging the Chattahoochee River? Is Georgia responsible for the demise of Florida’s oyster industry? Will metro Atlantans be able to water their lawns in the future?” The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) asked in a report on the case.

These issues are the focus of the “water war” between Georgia and Florida. The trial began October 31 in a Maine bankruptcy court following “nearly three decades” of previous litigation, the report said.

“The most basic thing to know about this case is that Florida says Georgia uses too much water, and it calls out Atlanta, which gets most of its water from the Chattahoochee River,” NPR reported.

The issue at hand, per the Associated Press: “Florida claims that Atlanta and southwest Georgia farmers are using too much water and are hurting the oyster industry downstream. Georgia argues that limiting its water use will harm the economy.”

As the trial began this week, lawyers for the two states expanded on these points, according to another AJC article:

Georgia portrayed Florida as a long-running legal opportunist finding fault with Atlanta lawn-lovers, South Georgia farmers, federal engineers — anybody but the Sunshine State — for the economic and ecological harm done to the Apalachicola River basin. Florida accused Georgia of knowingly hoarding Chattahoochee and Flint river water, and of “illegally” watering 90,000 acres of farmland to the detriment of Florida’s oyster industry and riverine ecosystem.

What’s at stake here? E&E News reported: “Even if it doesn't resolve everything between Florida and Georgia, the case could be significant for the rest of the country if the Supreme Court ends up divvying the water between the two states.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decided two years ago to consider the case after Florida pushed ahead with a lawsuit against Georgia.

“The Supreme Court appointed Pierce Atwood LLP attorney Ralph Lancaster as special master in the case. He'll make recommendations to the high court based on the trial and evidence; the justices will decide whether to accept the outcome,” E&E News reported.

E&E News posted a pretrial document submitted by Florida as well as one from Georgia describing each state’s arguments.