Regional IssueRegional IssueOgallala AquiferOgallala Aquifer

Regional IssueRegional IssueGeorgia/Florida/AlabamaGeorgia/Florida/Alabama

Florida to take Georgia, Alabama to court over water rights

September 2003U.S. Water News Online

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After failing to reach a water-sharing agreement with Alabama and Georgia, Florida said it will ask the courts to decide how much water each state should receive from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.

The issue concerns the water needs of metropolitan Atlanta, farms in southwest Georgia and the oyster-rich Apalachicola Bay in Florida, which supplies 90 percent of Florida's oysters and 10 percent of the nation's.

The three states' governors had approved the tentative agreement in July, setting a recent deadline for a final plan. Instead of extending the deadline, Florida decided it would leave the water-sharing decision to federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The states have debated for five years on how to solve the water-sharing issue.

Regional IssueRegional IssueLower Mississippi Delta Groundwater DeclineLower Mississippi Delta Groundwater Decline

With this as a background let’s With this as a background let’s revisit the original questionsrevisit the original questions

Is water supply sufficient to maintain our current activities?Is water supply sufficient to maintain our current activities?What if there is growth?What if there is growth?What are potential issues on the horizon for water rights?What are potential issues on the horizon for water rights?How will irrigation practices be impacted?How will irrigation practices be impacted?Will water transportation continue to be a dependable form Will water transportation continue to be a dependable form of transportation for agriculture commodities?of transportation for agriculture commodities?How is US water situation over the next 10-15 years How is US water situation over the next 10-15 years affected by the practices in Canada/Mexico and vice-versa?affected by the practices in Canada/Mexico and vice-versa?

Is water supply sufficient to maintain our Is water supply sufficient to maintain our current activities?current activities?

Yes ….but not without changes

And…certain areas or industrieswill be impacted more than others

What Changes?What Changes?

Increasing crop output per unit of evaporated water

Reducing losses of usable water to sinks

Reducing water pollution

Reallocating water from lower valued to higher valued uses

Some water development

Environmental balance

Many of these changes are already underway

43 million acres of agricultural land were irrigated in the West. These lands produced 72 percent of crop sales on only 27 percent of the total harvested crop acreage

High-valued orchards, berries, vegetables, and nursery crops account for almost 60 percent of the West’s total value of sales from irrigated crops on just 15 percent of the land irrigated

Field and forage crops account for the remaining 40 percent of sales, but occupy 71 percent of the irrigated area.