Grass definitely greener in Tennessee; it has the river Georgia wants

Mona Ridder
Cumberland Times-News

April 12, 2008 12:09 am

— The state of Georgia wants to move its border with Tennessee a mile north.
It seems that in 1796, Congress designated that Tennessee’s southern borders should stretch along the 35th parallel, but surveyors in 1818 were apparently off the mark and the border was placed about 1.1 miles south of where it was supposed to be.
Georgia wants it changed but Tennessee likes it where it is. After all it has been a perfectly good border for nearly 200 years.
And up until this century, Georgians weren’t really unhappy with it either.
That is until the state began having water problems.
Now lawmakers realize that an important water resource is within their grasp if that border is relocated.
In an Associated Press story last week, it was reported that the Georgia House voted to urge mapmakers to redraw the northern boundary in hopes of tapping the Tennessee River.
A border commission was to be formed to negotiate with the northern neighbor. But the latest version of the bill dropped an attempt to create the commission after Tennessee lawmakers voted to refuse to send representatives to the panel.
The Tennessee River has about a 15 times greater flow of water than the one Atlanta depends on for its water supply.
The Tennessee Valley Authority uses this resource to generate electricity and it is a major tourist attraction for that state.
According to the report, even a number of Georgia lawmakers are beginning to question the effort. One state representative said that the measure is a reflection of the state’s inability to deal with its drought problem.
I would agree with that. They can’t solve their problem so they are looking to cop the neighbor’s water rights. Sort of like an old West movie.
Georgia is having a problem and its problem is spilling over into Alabama and Florida as well as officials have looked at a number of options to deal with it.
For right now, one state senator said there is little they can do about the drought except to conserve and wait for it to rain. He also pointed out, however that the growing state needs to look at increasing its water supply. He said there are only two options, the Atlantic Ocean and the Tennessee River.
As the rest of us look at Georgia’s problems we need to be mindful that they could be ours one day.
We’ve heard a lot about catastrophic events that could result in a westward evacuation of the urban areas to the East but not a lot of consideration is being given to the more gradual Westward migration that is already occurring as more and more people move into the region.
Unlike some other areas, jobs and housing are growing here. Not, too, fast, yet, thank goodness but growing nevertheless.
And, it is now, before too fast comes, that we need to be thinking and planning so that we don’t run out of resources to accommodate growth.
Water is indeed a big one.
And with the question of how much water and the quality of the water available comes another question. And that is who owns the water.
In the case of Georgia, the water the state wants is owned by someone else and just changing the boundary will not solve the problem.
The Greater Cumberland Committee recently invited West Virginia University hydrologist Joe Donna to come to the region to talk about water resources.
The committee works for the advancement of the region in community and economic development efforts and is made up of members from Garrett, Allegany and Mineral counties.
The committee wants to see local officials get together to do a water resources study to answer some questions about quantity and quality of water in the region.
The emphasis is to make sure that there is enough water on which to base substantial growth in housing and industry.
The group met at Potomac State College of West Virginia University to hear Donna, whose presentation focused on different types of water resources and their value in development.
I’ve heard several people say that there really is plenty of water in the region but the delivery system is inadequate.
I have also heard people say that there is plenty of water in the North Branch of the Potomac River, but the water rights to that tributary belong to Washington, D.C., and not to the people and governments along its banks in Western Maryland and West Virginia.
It really is time to take a hard look at water resources and water rights in the region and the Greater Cumberland Committee is taking the lead.
Contact Mona Ridder at mridder@times-news.com.

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