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Water Wars Brew in Southeast


No one expected it to become such a critical resource so fast in a region long thought to have an inexhaustible supply.

But as the Southeast booms through an era of exponential growth, water — who controls it and how it should be managed — is fast becoming one of the most important and controversial issues across the region. "At one time in this region, we thought water was a plentiful and unending resource," says Wesley Woolf, director of the Deep South office of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Atlanta. "Now, with the unending growth here, we've realized it's a finite resource. Now that we have sprawled out to the max, we're going to have to start thinking and doing things differently."

That's already happening.

Political leaders in places such as the Carolinas and Tennessee are taking a much more serious approach toward the allocation and availability of water than they did as recently as five years ago, says Tim Gangaware, associate director of the Tennessee Water Resources Center. And the reason, many agree, is the region's breakneck growth.

Larry Copeland, USA TODAY



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