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May 2008
Editor's letter: Water's Way to Go
BusinessTN's February 2007 cover story looking into the future of water usage and rights in
Tennessee was uncannily prophetic. Published several months before the historic drought of the
summer of 2007, the story touched upon and warned against subjects that have since been regional and
national mainstays in the news—including Georgia wanting a share. Yet at the time, the topic
was virtually uncovered by mainstream media. Still available at www.businesstn.com, the
thesis of the story could well be summed up by the words printed on the issue's cover—"Now is
the time for enlightened stewardship of our liquid gold asset."
The article concluded with a warning. The state can be proactive in developing regional strategies
for sharing water resources. But the time to act is now, before resource-sharing issues grow and
become contentious. If we continue down the road we're heading, conflict resolution will be played
out in the courts and planning could be taken out of our hands and instead be placed in the hands of
some kind of federal water czar or manager. As such—at the least—governors throughout
the region should appoint a commission to develop and propose a set of recommendations for regional
water management.
Now, 15 months after publication of that article, where do we stand?
- A presiding judge has opined that the U.S. Supreme Court should hear a lawsuit filed by the
state of Mississippi against the City of Memphis over water rights.
- U.S. Interior Secretary Dick Kempthorne recently concluded and stated publicly that White
House-brokered water negotiations among the states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia had failed and
that the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies would begin implementing a water-sharing
plan of their own.
- Peach State lawmakers passed a resolution asserting that Tennessee's state line was, at its
inception, improperly drawn and called on a border commission to study relocating the line
approximately one mile north so as to allow Georgians access to the Tennessee River and its water
supply. Chattanooga mayor Ron Littlefield responded by sending to the Georgia state Capitol 2,000
bottles of bottled water for Georgia lawmakers to drink, proclaiming the delivery day as "Give our
Georgia Friends a Drink Day."
Some positive developments have occurred. Credit, for instance, the county mayors in Claiborne,
Grainger, Hancock, Knox and Union counties for their recent creation of the East Tennessee Regional
Water Coalition to address drought-related and public water service issues. But bottom line, the
overall efforts of decision makers in Tennessee and across the South to collaborate instead of
litigate on issues of water usage have been nothing short of a colossal failure.
At the time the February 2007 article was written, BusinessTN was careful not to paint a
picture of a crisis—at the time there was no such crisis to paint. Now, in the midst of an
ongoing drought, and based on the uninspired activities of our elected leadership, it is time for a
renewed call for cooperation. Leaders across the South must stop warring, grandstanding, passing
bizarre resolutions and orchestrating elaborate pranks and instead get down to the business of the
people—namely managing our collective resources for the economic benefit of us all.
On the eve of summer, drought will no doubt persist across the Tennessee Valley. But even if our
water woes subside, the moral remains the same as stated on the February 2007 issue's cover:
now is the time for enlightened stewardship of our liquid gold asset.
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