Will a thirsty Atlanta try to drink our water?

Atlanta might be some 270 miles from South Carolina's Lowcountry, but its epic drought has local water officials watching the Southeast's largest city closely, fearful it might turn its gaze to the Savannah River.

The river, which spans South Carolina's border with Georgia, is a major source of drinking water for Beaufort and Jasper counties and portions of the coastal Peach State.

South Carolina water officials have long feared that Atlanta, with its robust and unbridled population growth and urban sprawl, would be forced to turn to the Savannah to slake its thirst.

Now, with Metro Atlanta more than 16 inches behind in annual rainfall, and its primary source of drinking water -- the 39,000-acre Lake Lanier -- drying up, the specter of the city tapping into the Savannah is less a question of "if" than "when," water officials say.

"They have a very significant problem, so quite obviously, they're going to have to do something," said Dean Moss, general manager of the Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority, which treats and distributes Savannah River water to a majority of area customers. "The Savannah River is just too logical of an alternative for them to ignore."

While Georgia state law precludes Atlanta from piping in water from the Savannah, Moss and other South Carolina officials say the situation in North Georgia is so dire that no water source is out of the question.

"The whole Atlanta story has to be a wake up call for South Carolina, because the Savannah River is becoming a very critical water source right now with a lot of pressure from a number of (entities)," said Jeffrey S. Allen, director of the South Carolina Water Resources Center at Clemson University.

FINITE WATER, INFINITE NEEDS

In Atlanta, a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl and waste has stretched its meager water supplies, including Lake Lanier and two other small watersheds, Allen said.

Because those sources alone won't sustain a population of 5 million and climbing, it must either enforce restrictive conservation policies or seek water elsewhere.

If Atlanta taps the Savannah, it could have dire consequences for portions of both states downriver, which have growth and water issues of their own.

Populations could double in southern Beaufort and Jasper counties over the next two decades, which would more than double demand for potable water. Savannah and coastal Georgia also plan to welcome tens of thousands of new residents in coming years, while working to cut water usage at the same time.

And, as more of Hilton Head Island's wells turn to salt, treated Savannah water from BJWSA will play an increasingly important role in supplying island customers.

"We have a finite resource and infinite needs," said former state Sen. Robert Waldrep, chairman of Gov. Mark Sanford's Savannah River Committee, formed in conjunction with a Georgia group to create a dialogue between the states on shared water resources.

The groups have been meeting for more than two years to solve problems related to a shared aquifer that's been plagued by saltwater intrusion in South Carolina. They signed a vaguely worded agreement earlier this month to work together on the issue.

But that might be a just a warm-up for more heated discussions that lie ahead: South Carolina and Georgia still have no formal agreement on the Savannah River.

"When you get right down to it, we have to look at what we might be entitled to," Waldrep said. "Legally, that should be half of the water in that river."

It's unlikely, however, that Georgia -- which has always negotiated from a position of political power -- sees the river as a fifty-fifty resource, S.C. water officials say.

Carol Couch, director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and chair of that state's Savannah River Committee, didn't return several messages left last week.

LOOKING BEYOND THE RAIN

With both states already locked firmly in a battle that doesn't factor in Atlanta, any effort to pipe Savannah River water there is certain to be met with fierce resistance.

Similar situations have ended up in federal court.

Georgia is the subject of lawsuits filed by Florida and Alabama over water issues. South Carolina has it's own pending suit against North Carolina.

Keeping the issue out of court is a key goal of the Savannah committees, and why it's crucial the states work together on a comprehensive water-sharing agreement, said David Baize, an official with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control's Bureau of Water.

"The perception that Atlanta is after the Savannah is out there, there's no doubt about it," he said.

Those concerns have boiled over several times in meetings between the two committees.

South Carolina officials repeatedly have warned Georgia it will have myriad problems -- including a costly and time-consuming lawsuit -- if it pursues the Savannah for Metro Atlanta.

"I told them that the quickest way to get South Carolina off that list (of pending court cases), is to work out a deal so both states understand how much water is available," said Moss of BJWSA.

Still, a project to pipe Savannah water to Atlanta is not a near-term solution and would take several years to complete.

In the meantime, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has mandated North Georgia utilities cut consumption by 10 percent.

The problem won't end when the drought does.

As rains inevitably return, and reservoirs and lakes in North Georgia fill, its crucial the issue isn't forgotten, said Allen of the S.C. Water Resources Center.

"It's really easy to forget about all of the problems when the rivers are full and everyone's happy," he said. "But the key challenge is to get some long-term planning done and some sort of agreement between the two states. This is an issue that's going to be slapped in our faces much more often than we care."