If you picked your AJC up off the driveway or plunged neck-deep into the depths of AJC.com this morning, you’ll have already read about Georgia’s crushing defeat in the alliterative “Water Wars”.

For those just waking up, U.S. District judge Paul Magnuson ruled yesterday that the Army Corps. of Engineers has been illegally supplying water to the city of Atlanta for decades, and gave all parties involved three years to work out a solution in Congress.  If the three states (GA, AL, and FL) can’t come to a solution, the judge’s order reinforces the original plan for Lake Lanier created 50 years ago, which says only the city’s of Gainesville and Buford will be allowed to draw from the reservoir.

Georgia lawmakers echoed the statements of the state’s youngest senator, Saxby Chambliss, who called the ruling “draconian”, always annoyed when the limits of the natural environment get in the way of unending growth and profit.

But one Georgia blogger from the city of Decatur, in a moment of unprecedented clarity, scoffed off the judge’s ruling and proposed a much easier solution, which bypassed the time-wasting practice of “negotiation.”

“Listen, no one ever expected the name “Atlanta” to last forever.  I mean, who wants a name that was picked purely for the reason that it was less ridiculous than “Marthasville?”  If Atlanta wants to continue ignoring the needs of neighboring states in the name of self-preservation, there’s one simple solution: the cities of Buford and Gainesville must annex the entire metropolitan area.  That’ll show those other states who’s boss.  Gainesville/Buford would become the Minneapolis/St. Paul of the south, while those other states could dehydrate into oblivion.”

No legislators have yet commented on the suggestion, obviously stunned silent by the genius of the idea.

It seems like “working on a plan” and “signed, sealed, delivered” are two completely different things.

After hearing from the fishing industry, Panhandle leaders and environmental groups back in his home state of Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist,  abruptly pulled out of a tentative deal to reduce water released from Lake Lanier.

Georgians will call this “reneging” while Florida will assert that no deal was ever written in stone.  This quote from the Orlando Sentential seems to be the sticking point,

“Although discussed during the governors’ meeting, the reduction level wasn’t formally proposed by the corps until later that night.”

An article in the AJC earlier this week, reported on the doubt most water experts had on the much-celebrated (at least in Georgia) deal.

“But people like Jerry Sherk who have witnessed the dispute for years have their doubts. Sherk, who specializes in water law and who over the years has advised both Georgia and the city of LaGrange in the dispute, is blunt about the likelihood of a deal in 3½ months.

“Not a chance,” he said. “If there’s political goodwill, we will reach a nice, superficial, unenforceable gentleman’s agreement that will be window dressing at best.”

Too many parties — from various federal agencies to hydropower customers — would need to be at the table in too short a time, Sherk warned. What’s more, he said, “The absence of trust here is more all-pervasive than I’ve ever seen it in a water conflict, and I’ve seen a lot of water conflicts.”

We should have known better that the White House deal was too vague and too rushed to mark the end of this dispute.

Keep Conserving!