The Miami Herald reports the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services may increase its requirements for low flows in the Apalachicola River to maintain habitat for the federally protected three ridge mussel and the purple bankclimber mussel.  The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services is not scheduled to release the report until August 1, but if the news report is true, what implications would that have for the amount of water that Georgians and Alabamans could be permitted to withdraw from the Chattahoochee River for residential, industrial and agricultural purposes?

It’s logical to conclude that if the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services requires more than the 5,000 cubic feet per second it said was satisfactory in 2008, there would be less water to withdraw from Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River in the future.  So how will Georgians react?  In the same manner Georgians have always reacted.   As existing water sources become less reliable to meet existing and projected needs they will turn to new water sources, conservation, and new storage.

The real  world consequences of the report will not be known until all the parties have had an opportunity to review the report and the engineers have had an opportunity to determine its influence on a  potential operating manual for the federal reservoirs,  but we can assume that Georgia and Alabama will have less water available for water supply in the future.