Georgia, Alabama and Florida need a water-sharing plan

Emerging from a private meeting Dec. 15, the governors provided no details on what a solution might look like. But they all expressed optimism that after nearly two decades, a solution can be found, according to a story in the Miami Herald.

The three Republican governors last met to discuss water sharing in December 2007 in Tallahassee, Fla. They also predicted success then, but the conflict grew even testier and court rulings generally went against the interests of Georgia.

This time, they said, the outlook is different, partly because of a tight timetable before all three turn over their jobs to new state chief executives.

Terms of office are not the only deadline facing the governors.

A federal judge ruled in July that Georgia has few legal rights to Lake Lanier, a federal reservoir on the Chattahoochee River and the main source of water for Atlanta. The judge gave the states and Congress until 2012 to agree on water sharing.