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SUMMIT I

Program Highlights: Southwest Georgia's Future and Its Water Needs

Held January 20, 1999 at Albany Technical Institute, Albany, Georgia

Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor
Introductory Challenge

"I want us to come out of this conference today strong in our positions, defending the best interests of rural south Georgia, but I also want us to come out of it united as Georgians, that as Georgians we can work together, once this agreement is in place."
Mr. G. Robert Kerr
ACT/ACF Compact Commissioner
Alternate Negotiator for Allocation Formulas
Inter- and Intra- State Water Issues

"What we're finding is that the [water] resource is finite... We are going to have learn to operate within the limits of the resource. What we're attempting to do [in the allocation negotiating process] is to get an allocation formula at the state line, that allows us total flexibility, to do what we have to do, to mass balance out, to share the benefit, and minimize the pain, so that we can meet our down-stream commitments while still retaining our sovereignty and flexibility within the state."
Mr. Napolean Caldwell
Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Environmental Protection Division

Regional Water Management Strategies: The Southeast Effort
Mr. Woody Hicks
Regional Groundwater Director - United States Geologic Survey

Water Use: Interconnections with Regional Aquifers and Groundwater
Dr. Elizabeth R. Blood
Water Research Scientist - J. W. Jones Ecological Research Center

Water Use: Interconnections with Natural Resources and Health

Review this presentation
Dr. James E. Hook
Soil & Water Research Scientist - University of Georgia, NESPAL

Water Use: Interconnections with Regional Economics

Review this presentation
Mr. Lindsay Thomas
President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Federal Commissioner for the ACT/ACF River Basin Compact

The Challenges and Opportunities Southwest Georgia Faces in Balancing Wise Use and Stewardship of Its Water Resources



Summaries from Breakout Sessions within Stakeholder Groups

After the luncheon speaker, participants broke into smaller discussion groups by Stakeholder interest. With help from outside moderators, they considered three questions:

  • What are the most important concerns from your perspective?

  • What is the role of our stakeholder group in thses issues?

  • Where do we want to go from here?


From written and oral comments (see full summary by group), came a number of themes common to all stakeholder groups:


Information and knowledge
Everyone called for more facts with which individuals and groups can make their own assessment of problems and use in finding solutions. This was coupled with an almost universal call for more research to uncover the facts.
 
Education at all levels
Foremost, we must educate ourselves (stakeholder group) to get up to speed on the water issues, who is involved, what are the stakes. We also need to educate others (the Public, other stakeholder groups, Atlanta folks, and Alabama and Florida interests) about the importance of water to us and our concerns on how water should be shared.

Water Quantity, Conservation
Water Conservation is something we must all learn to do. We need to reach a level of sustainable water use, especially with respect to the environment.

Water Quality
Water Quality was a concern to every group. The perception that water quality is not as good as it used to be and that sources are not as protected as they used to be is strong.

Organize Stakeholder Groups
Stakeholder groups expressed a desire to create regional stakeholder or more general user groups to give a voice to regional concerns and assure that they are heard. We also need to seek unity within our stakeholder group and among groups.

Involvement in policy/regulation decisions
Stakeholder groups expressed a desire to influence policy. We need representation and participation in decision making. Most groups expressed a willingness or even a demand for regulation, monitoring, and enforcement, particularly with respect to other users. There must be equity in regulations/policy/conservation.
 
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and its National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL), a research organization dedicated to development of environmentally and economically sound agricultural production systems, is proud to host this important forum for public discussion of water issues.

The views presented here do not represent those of NESPAL, The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The University of Georgia, The State of Georgia or their employees. For more information please revisit these pages for updates, or send electronic mail to Dr. Jim Hook at jimhook@tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu.

Water Summit pages developed by Linsey Forlow and James Hook on April 1, 2002. This page last updated April 1, 2002.