Water is the “cause celebre” for the Singlebarbed editorial staff, and keeping an eye on the tenuous arrangement unfolding in Georgia (as a precursor to what we all may experience), suggests the issue may be headed for the courts.

A tentative arrangement brokered by the Bush administration, between Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, looks like it may unravel:

In a letter to federal officials, Florida‘s environmental protection chief said the state opposes an arrangement announced in Washington last week under which the Army Corps of Engineers would cut river flows into Florida and Alabama in order to capture more water for Georgia.

The river reductions would cause a “catastrophic collapse of the oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay” and “displace the entire economy of the Bay region,” wrote Michael Sole, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist raised no such objections at a news conference in Washington last week, where Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne hailed the governors for coming together as good neighbors.

Under the newly brokered agreement, the Army Corp of Engineers would reduce water flows from Lake Lanier by 16%. The extra water would buy Atlanta additional time before it’s taps run dry.

Interesting to note that while “sturgeon and mussels” are oft-mentioned in arguments, it’s people and dollars that get the real coverage. Industry, voters, then environment… not surprising, as we’ve seen this all before.

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