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Water War Between Georgia And Tennessee?


  3. JanforGore
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The borderline between Northern Georgia and Southern Tennessee that separates the Tennessee River is under dispute due to Georgia claiming the borderline originally was meant to be higher, thus giving Georgia rights to the Tennessee River as well. Legislators in Georgia hope to remedy that to allow thousands of gallons of the Tennessee River to flow to drought stricken Georgia. However, the Tennessee legislature and some Tennesseans are determined to not allow it to happen, even to the point of some residents claiming they will buy guns and shoot their rifles off if any encroachment occurs. Are we seeing the making of a water war in the Southwest due to the drought? And in perspective, is it really so hard to come to some sort of understanding between states to provide water for residents of this country who are suffering from a drought? Should the border be moved, or does the human right to water supercede boundaries? What do you think?
JanforGore

8 responses // Water War Between Georgia And Tennessee?

  • This is only going to get worse in the future. If we can't come to the agreement that water is a human right (as long as it exisits on our land) now, what will the future be like? My opinion is that we should start thinking about things like this now, and live near fresh water.


    ..or invent simple, at-home methods of making fresh water from salt water.
    cheyroze
  • http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=deta...
    Current's Vanguard team has been looking into water issues around the world, including in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
    Tori
  • Reclmation tech is feasible, move $ from defense to productive investments that achieve water efficiency.
    cbapel
  • Tori: I really appreciate what Current is doing to bring this crisis to the fore. It will be one of the defining issues of this generation. States need to prepare for this from refining agricultural practices (and that also means no corn ethanol,) to storing rainwater, to reclaimation, to conservation, and also evasive caps on CO2 and other GHGs that are only making droughts more pervasive and severe. Infrastructure is also the key. Too much money is wasted on frivolous expenditures in states as water leaks through old pipes and systems that could be used by residents. It's time to stop WAR and use our funds to fix infrastructure right here and stop giving water companies private ownership of water supplies. I bet if Nestle or Coke approached Tennessee to buy part of the Tennessee River to bottle it for a good price they would sell it to them. However, they can't help a fellow neighbor in need based on a boundary? I agree with cheyrose, water needs to be declared a global human right. That will also keep corporate predators at bay thus allowing states to have more water for their residents instead of seeing it on store shelves for 5.00 a bottle.
    JanforGore
  • I heard on NPR that new water parks are currently under construction in the state of Georgia. While I agree that we need to take action to secure ample drinking water now, I hold out little hope that it will happen. Instead, I expect widespread drought in the U.S. in years to come.

    Personally, I have decreased my annual water use by many thousands of gallons. I think this is the sort of individual change that we need.
    rambn
  • http://current.com/items/88834202_udderly_dry
    The southeast drought's affect on Alabama farming.
    afitzgerald
  • there already is a "water war" going on between georgia, florida, and alabama.
    asmith16
  • I was born and raised in Tennessee, and I have family in Georgia. The drought has hit both states very, very hard. In fact, the lakes are still very low on the French Broad, Holston and Tennessee rivers. So, clearly, it is not only the five million people who were foolish enough to settle in the rather dry central Georgia plain who are in need here.

    Now, as a Tennessean, I'll say this. It will be a very cold day in a very hot place before we let Georgia take over any part of our state. Not only do the people in the area think of themselves as Tennesseans (yes that is a big deal to a lot of us), but Georgia has a state income tax, which is something the people of our state have rejected time and again.

    Anyway, here is the best solution that I can work out. Take this out of the political arena. Let the water be sold at market, at as high or as low a price as the "corporate predators" (apologies to cbapel) feel they can sell it and still turn a profit. This will have at least two desirable effects. One, it will keep the politicians in Georgia from using this issue as a red-herring to distract the people of that state from more pressing issues. Two, it will reduce frivolous water usage. I mean, why shouldn't a company build a water park in the middle of a record drought if it knows the government will subsidize the water that it would require?

    That's the way I see it.
    tatteredflag

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