James Call

Democrat Capitol Reporter

The Apalachicola River is No. 1 on this year’s list of the most endangered river systems in the country. The annual list by the group American Rivers says the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin is threatened by a growing human population and climate change.

American Rivers and local officials including Congresswoman Gwen Graham, D-Tallahassee, and state Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, will hold a news conference today to issue a call to action for resolving a tristate dispute over the flow of water from the Appalachian Mountains into the Apalachicola Bay.

A 1989 decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to siphon water from the Chattahoochee for use by the metro Atlanta area combined with drought has reduced the flow of water into the Apalachicola River and is believed responsible for the 2010 collapse of the oyster fishery in Apalachicola Bay.

“We need to get the governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida together to think through (water) management strategies to satisfy the needs of people up north but also delivers enough water south into the Apalachicola River and bay to keep them healthy,” said Chris Williams, an American Rivers vice president.

“We don’t have those strategies in place. We don’t even have a system to put those strategies in place.”

American Rivers considers 2016 a pivotal year for the Apalachicola. Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting in court since the Corps began diverting water to Atlanta. A special master in that case is expected to issue a ruling this year.

Also, the Corps is rewriting a management plan for the Basin.

Williams and others fear unless a cooperative agreement is forged by the three states lawsuits will continue regardless of how a special master or the Army Corps decides to resolve the issue.

“We’re calling on people to call their governors,” said Williams. “There are compelling reasons to resolve the water war this year.”

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.