In October of 2013, Governor Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the State of Florida had filed suit against Georgia to stop its unchecked consumption of water that harms the families of Northwest Florida. The Apalachicola River has been impacted drastically by withdrawals from the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers.
The Metro-Atlanta area mainly takes its water from the Chattahoochee River. The withdrawals total 360 million gallons per day. Georgia’s consumption is anticipated to double to 705 gallons per day by 2040. This is due to the fact Atlanta’s population and water withdrawals grow rapidly and unregulated.
Due to the over consumption of water, the water levels have been historically low. This causes higher salinity, increased disease and predator intrusion in the bay. Apalachicola Bay used to account for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s oyster supply. Those oysters have been dying off due to the increased salinity causing the industry to collapse in 2012. This led Governor Scott to obtain a Commercial Fisheries Disaster Declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s order has since granted Florida’s motion and allowed the lawsuit to move forward.
Attorney General Pam Bondi had the following to say about the Supreme Court’s decision:
We are pleased with the United States Supreme Court’s decision to grant Florida’s motion and to allow the lawsuit against Georgia to move forward. Georgia has delayed long enough and this lawsuit is essential to protect Florida from the environmental and economic harms caused by Georgia’s over consumption of water. We look forward to continuing our fight to protect Florida’s fair share of water in the United States Supreme Court.”