Trial Set to Begin in Florida and Georgia's Fight Over Water

10/31/2016

ATLANTA (AP) – Florida and Georgia this week are taking their long-standing fight over the supply of water in their shared watershed to court. The result could affect millions of people and major industries in both states.

The dispute focuses on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. The watershed drains nearly 20,000 square miles in western Georgia, eastern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

In a trial opening Monday before an official appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court, Georgia is expected to argue that limiting its water use will harm the economy. Florida has argued that Atlanta and southwest Georgia farmers use too much water, hurting the oyster industry downstream.