12 responses so far ↓

• Harry // Oct 13, 2007 at 7:49 pm

  

  These days the Army Corps of Engineers is staffed with political environmentalists. In trying to protect some obscure species of waterfowl in Lake Pontchartrain, they didn’t adequately provide for levees on the lake and feeder canals to protect New Orleans; and thus were responsible for the demise of the city, although the media tried to blame Bush.

  In trying to protect some obscure mussels in the Appalachicola watershed, they are endangering the health of 6 million. If people are forced to drink recycled sewer water that is not sufficiently diluted with fresh water, then all sorts of public health issues will occur. I would hope that this time the media places blame where it belongs - with the Army Corps of Engineers and not George Bush; but most likely they’ll blame Bush again.

• Harry // Oct 13, 2007 at 8:00 pm

  

  To amend my comment, I’m not saying that Lake Lanier and Alatoona need preferential status. Sufficient water needs to flow down the Chattahoochee and Etowah to provide sufficient fresh water to all community intakes. But in a drought, no special consideration should be assigned to protecting some mussels that nobody would dare eat anyway.

• IndyInjun // Oct 13, 2007 at 8:27 pm

  

  This is the most serious of situations.

  Pray for rain.

  One cannot imagine the disaster if metro Atlanta runs out. No one in the state or region will be unaffected.

• IndyInjun // Oct 13, 2007 at 8:30 pm

  

  I don’t think the COE is responsible, though. They have nothing at all to do with the dearth of rain.

• ramblinwreck // Oct 13, 2007 at 9:58 pm

  

  Sooner or later someone will realize that Georgia touches the Tennessee river and could, even if it requires some legal action, get access to a limitless supply of water. According to TVA’s own studies 250 million gallons of water per day could be taken out of the river less than 10 miles before it enters Alabama and that would be less than 1% of the river’s flow. Of course finding the courage for another probable water war is going to be the most difficult challenge for our elected officials.

• griftdrift // Oct 14, 2007 at 12:16 pm

  

  It’s not just a few mussels. It’s the entire Appalachicola oyster industry. I wonder how Darien would feel if Macon decided to stop all the flow from the Altmaha basin.

• StevePerkins // Oct 14, 2007 at 1:15 pm

  

  You’re being way too simplistic, Harry. Protecting species isn’t just a matter of whether we eat that particular species or not. The species that we DO eat depend other species, which in turn depend others, etc. The world is a little more complicated than just some assembly line that churns out Big Macs.

  Ultimately, the drought isn’t George Bush’s fault, and it isn’t some environmentalists’ fault. The “fault” is lack of rain, period. The water level in Lake Lanier right now is down THIRTEEN FEET. Releasing more or less water from the lake is neither here nor there as a long-term solution without making some decisions about sustainability. Just a few months ago on Peach Pundit there was a discussion thread about how brown people’s grass was looking, and criticizing people who “rat out” their neighbors for watering their lawns on off-days. Like it or not, that kind of attitude is going to have to change.

• Harry // Oct 14, 2007 at 8:21 pm

  

  Well, if we have to have a drought I’ll admit I’d like to see the environmentalist bureaucrats at the Army Corps of Engineers eat some crow. The public health of 6 million people is more important than the mussel and oyster industry.

• Harry // Oct 14, 2007 at 8:23 pm

  

  The media treats the Corps of Engineers like they can do no wrong. But they can.

• GodHatesTrash // Oct 14, 2007 at 8:37 pm

  

  Well, since it is kkkonservative mantra and doctrine that there is no global climate change, this 100 year drought must be an act of Gawd, and as such, one must wonder why the people of Georgia (and the surrounding red states) are being singled out by Gawd for His vengeance…

  I have my ideas…

  Keep releasing the water, Corp of Engineers. I’d take a couple of dozen oysters over a whole passel of rednecks any day.

• heroV // Oct 15, 2007 at 9:05 am

  

  Finally some peachpundit coverage on our dire water situation. We need a discussion on some solutions to the problem. Hopefully some of the elected representatives who post here can chime in.

• Bill Simon // Oct 15, 2007 at 9:37 am

  

  HeroV,

  Hey, Sonny prayed for rain one day in Middle Georgia a few months ago, and it rained the next day right where he wanted. Why can’t he and the others pray for rain now?

  Or…was it a trick back then…?