Tensions Mount Between States As Southeastern Drought Intensifies

November 2, 2007 5:35 p.m. EST

Atlanta, GA (AHN) - Persistent droughts continue to dry up water supplies throughout the southeast, causing widespread restrictions on usage that, in some cases, are pitting neighbors - and states - against one another.

With no end in sight, the U.S. Weather Service reported Thursday, parts of the region could to run out of water in less than 90 days.

Georgia, Alabama and Florida all derive most of their water supplies from the same two reservoirs, managed by the federal Army Corps of Engineers. While more people in Florida and Alabama tend to use more water for farms, power plants and industry, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is working to make sure that residents in his state don't wind up high and dry.

"These are shared problems, and they are going to require shared solutions," Perdue said after a Thursday night meeting between leaders from the three states.

The tensions between the states is paralleled in local communities, where, inn some areas, police roam the streets looking for residents watering their lawns, in violation of current restrictions. Concerned residents, they say, are bolstering their efforts by turning their defiant neighbors in.

At least one small town has completely run out of water. According to the Associate Press, the powerful waterfall that once supplied the rural community of Orme, Tennesse, has been reduced to a trickle. Located about 40 miles west of Chattanooga and 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, town leaders are currently taking water from a nearby Alabama hydrant to fuel their water tank. That way, for the time being, locals can continue to enjoy a precious three hours of running water a day.

"I feel for the folks in Atlanta," Orme's mayor and volunteer fire chief, Tony Reames, told the AP. "We can survive. We're 145 people. You've got 4.5 million people down there. What are they going to do? It's a scary thought."