Politics & Government

Lake Lanier Water Ruling Overturned

Original ruling would have severely restricted metro Atlanta's access to water from Lake Lanier

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a federal judge has tossed out a lower court ruling that would have severely restrict Atlanta’s ability to take water from Lake Lanier, starting in July 2012, unless the governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama reached an agreement to end the long-standing water wars between the tri-state area.

The appeals court reportedly ruled that the U.S. Corps of Engineers must first issue a final decision on whether Georgia can have more water before legal challenges can proceed. The decision Tuesday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an early order from U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson.

Gwinnett County gets its water supply from Lake Lanier, drawing an average of about 575 million gallons per day from the lake to provide the public water supply for its businesses and roughly 800,000 residents. Depleting water resources in the north Georgia area have been a cause for concern for officials for decades.

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