WASHINGTON (AP) -- Florida backed away on Friday from a temporary truce brokered by the Bush administration in a long-standing water war, aggravated by drought, among Florida, Georgia and Alabama.


Governors Charlie Crist of Florida, Bob Riley of Alabama and Sonny Perdue of Georgia met with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (at lectern).

more photos » In a letter to federal officials, Florida's environmental protection chief said the state opposes an arrangement announced 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 letter says the plan would irreversibly damage Florida's environment and its fisheries.

The plan would "starve the Apalachicola River and Bay of freshwater flows needed to keep the ecosystems, species and economy alive," wrote Michael Sole, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Learn more about the states' water dispute »

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist raised no such objections at a press conference in Washington last week, where Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that the Army Corps cuts would be implemented as the governors worked toward a longer-term deal.

"I think that what we had today was a great discussion, a great understanding," Crist said at the press conference.

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But he has since come under heavy criticism from the fishing industry, local leaders and environmentalists.

The Southeast is in the midst of an exceptional drought that has depleted the Chattahoochee River, which supplies water to all three states. E-mail to a friend


I am conflicted here. I am all for sending water to Georgia, because they are in dire need of water. This is a human as well as wildlife issue. But which is to be the most important? Humans, or wildlife?
There are as we read, 17 states in desperate water needs. Some that have less than 75 days left for their state.
Kat
Kat

Atlanta GA here..
We have cut our household water consumption in half...last month..it is amazing what you can accomplish...with a little focus...

Anyone around these parts want to help me conserve??? come on over and let's take a shower...together

Your sense of humor makes me happy.
I have been on a rampage here in Oklahoma about conserving water. It is shameful how we waste and do not think of the consequences.
I am in hopes that rain or a miracle comes soon.
Kat

no rain in sight...they say maybe next week???

i literally cut my grass three time this summer...from May 'til now. it is usually every week..
we have been a complete outside watering ban for quite some time...stage 3 drought..i think is what they are calling it...past 2 years the watering ban has been 3 days a week.

peanut farmers are hurting...cotton is "low"...peaches were expensive...landscapers are on restrictions... GA and AL have filed law suite against the core of engineers..etc etc

I'm from LaGrange Georgia. Westpoint lake, it bordes part of my county which borders Georgia and Alabama. The lake has almost dried up. Situation is critical. But when people in the nicer sections of town were watering their lawns it was ok. The water restriction law was not enforced, but in the poorer sections of town they closed down the car wash. Rich people need to abide by the same laws as everyone else!

I think that is what our govt did here too....cut the water flow in our river from up north coming down south. We are level 4 with our water restriction in South Australia

Boy not here. Two years ago we were in extreme danger. I was in a neighborhood and their was a house with sprinkler system on and the cops and city came and made him shut it off. I am not sure if he got a ticket or not. I was glad to see it, because most were trying to abide. must have been someone that complained on him. That is what should happen when you see the rule being broken. Call him in.
Kat

SoCal is the driest area in the United States and Texas is the wettest.

That's according to a new list from livability expert Bert Sperling that measures the drought severity for the 100 largest metro areas in the United States. Nearly 200 million people reside in these 100 metros, comprising nearly 60 percent of the U.S. population.

"This drought is having a deep and lasting effect on the choices regarding where we will want to live in the future," Sperling said. "The crisis has been growing slowly, but it is finally getting attention in the national spotlight."


Topping the list was Los Angeles, with its recent annual rainfall only 25 percent of normal. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro area was joined in the top four spots on the list by other Southern California cities.

Coming in at No. 2 was the San Diego metro area, which includes Carlsbad, Calif., and San Marcos, Calif., followed by the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro areas.

Other top-10 driest cities include Salt Lake City, Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala.



National Climatic Data Center

At the other end of the list are cities suffering from too much water. Cities in the central Texas region such as San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Oklahoma City were afflicted by flood conditions this summer. Ironically, Sperling notes, these floods, which have caused deaths and property damage in Texas and (Oklahoma, I am not sure why that was left out. We had fema and many many houses and businesses to go under...) are the product of abnormal climate patterns that prevented the moisture-laden clouds to be carried northward to the already-parched Deep South.

National Drought Effects

It's not just particular areas of the country that experiencing droughts. Sperling said the entire United States is in the middle of a nationwide drought, producing a crisis that some scientists believe will have greater consequences than rising sea levels.

The devastating brush fires in Southern California are one side effect of this continuing drought. The Deep South is also gripped by a prolonged drought, endangering the water supply for the 4.4 million residents of the Atlanta area.

The effects can also be seen in the shrinking Great Lakes, Sperling said. The historically low water levels are threatening shipping commerce, he said. The Florida Everglades are also being affected by Florida's continuing water emergency, he said.

"Brush fires in California, the shrinking Great Lakes, Atlanta's dwindling water supply –- these are some of the effects we're seeing today from our nation's drought crisis," Sperling said. "Water shortages are projected to increase as our population grows and a warming climate produces abnormal precipitation patterns."

Measuring Drought Conditions

The study is based on the Sperling Drought Index, which Sperling created as a way for the public to easily understand and compare the severity of drought conditions.



National Climatic Data Center

Sperling has made a living for more 20 years through his firm "Sperling's BestPlaces" by helping people find their own "Best Place" to live.

"My work is all about measuring our livability and helping people find the best places for their life," said Sperling. I wanted to produce a metric that allows any city or neighborhood in the country to assess the current effect of the drought in their area."

The Sperling Drought Index is based on the scale where 100 represents the historic norm. Scores greater than 100 indicate drought conditions, and those less than 100 indicate abnormally wet conditions. Sperling and his team base the index on the latest drought and weather statistics from the National Climatic Data Center.

The complete database of Sperling Drought Indices have been put online, in a specialized Web site named www.DroughtScore.com.

DroughtScore.com is an example of a "micro-site", one of the newest trends in web design. Instead of a large site containing a wide variety of information, a micro-site focuses on a narrowly-defined subject.

Visitors to the site can assess and compare the drought risk for every city, town and zip code in the United States, representing more than 50,000 places in all.

In addition to the single score measuring the present drought situation in any area, DroughtScore.com graphs the scores for the last 13 months, comparing the local area to state and national averages.


Additional Resources:

Sperling's BestPlaces
DroughtScore.com
National Climatic Data Center
National Drought Migration Center


Previous Stories:
October 28, 2007: Crowds, Rain Avoid Anti-Drought Festival
September 6, 2007: Drought Taking Toll On New England Trees
September 4, 2007: Purple Hydrants Keep Parts Of Georgia Green

Kat

last month, i was down south and couldnt believe how dry it was... we were battling slight floods here. I dunno which is worse!

I used to live near Birminham, AL several years ago and there was always alot of rainfall. Moved back to Texas, and we are used to drought conditions here so having the rain was nice this year.

We are one of the most wasteful countries in the world. Why do we always have to learn the hard way?

Just wondering, would it help if Coca Cola quit shipping out the water from Georgia to the rest of the country.

????Don't know. Wouldn't bother me if they never made any of it. I do not drink pop of any kind.

Kat

Wait...except in a mixed drink. But, I guess I could just drink with something else, or just plain ole straight up.
Kat