By Bob Kemper, Gerry Shih
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/12/08

After a congressional hearing Tuesday into the long-running water wars raging among Georgia, Alabama and Florida, U.S. Rep. John Lewis introduced legislation requiring the federal government to study water resources across the Southeast. The three-year, $7 million study, Lewis said, would combine data from a multitude of studies already conducted on the tri-state area, along with new information collected from a much broader geographic region. The Atlanta Democrat's frustration with the governors boiled over during the hearing when he saw that none of the three had accepted invitations to testify before the subcommittee. Lewis called the governors' absence "upsetting." A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said, "We're confident [federal officials] have the ability to make good decisions. But we'll wait and see what those decisions are."