Tri-State Water Wars Overflow Into Tennessee

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The Chattahoochee River is one of the waterways at the center of a water crisis in the Southeast. / Wikimedia Commons

Georgia has been at war with Alabama and Florida over tri-state water use for decades. More recently, Tennessee entered the mix. 

The legal dispute began in 1990, when Alabama and Florida sued Georgia and the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) over a COE recommendation that a dam on the Chattahoochee River be used to supply Atlanta with water, rather than the states of Florida and Alabama. 

On Second Thought host Adam Ragusea speaks with Gil Rogers of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Nearly 30 years later, the battle continues: Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from both sides in Florida v. Georgia. 

To understand the water wars and the environmental impact of stretching water resources to serve Atlanta, we spoke with Gil Rogers. He oversees the Southern Environmental Law Center's offices in Alabama and Georgia.