Atlanta Expects Severe Water Restrictions Due to Drought

Atlanta is expected to tighten its grip on municipal water, enacting restrictions on businesses that some say will be more severe than at anytime in any U.S. city in 30 years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Already, Georgia has been battling neighboring states and the federal government over the flow of water from Lake Lanier, Atlanta's main water source. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has threatened to sue the Army Corps of Engineers if it doesn't hold back more water in the reservoir, as an historic drought tightens its grip across the region.

The fight among Georgia, Alabama, Florida and the Army Corps over water from the Chattahoochee River isn't new. But the immediacy of the downstream need is.

Both developments are signs of just how severe the drought in the normally wet Southeast has become.

Much of the region has experienced "exceptional drought" -- the highest designation of drought made by the federal government -- for months. This map shows the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor:

COMMENTS ()