Florida favored in water wars against Georgia

The Supreme Court on Monday appeared to be looking for a way to side with Florida in its complaint that Georgia uses too much water and leaves too little for its southern neighbor.

The justices heard argument in the long-running dispute between the two states.

The fight is over Georgia’s use of water from the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers that serve booming metro Atlanta and Georgia’s powerful agricultural industry.

Florida says too little is left by the time those rivers form the Apalachicola river that flows into Apalachicola Bay and the nearby Gulf of Mexico.

A special master appointed by the justices recommended that they side with Georgia and reject Florida’s call for limiting water consumption from the Flint river.

But during the hour-long argument, several justices suggested that special master Ralph Lancaster might have been unfair to Florida.

Low river flows on the Apalachicola have harmed the environment and fisheries dependent on fresh water entering the area, including a huge drop in the oyster harvest in the bay.

Craig Primis, Georgia’s lawyer at the high court, said that Florida had presented no evidence that forcing Georgia to cut its water use would benefit Florida.

Primis told the justices that there is “nothing common sense” about the operation of the complex river system.

The states’ battle over water use dates back to 1990, and includes drawn-out negotiations and several lawsuits. Alabama, which has the Chattahoochee on its eastern border, is not part of the current lawsuit.