Some good news for all water-based lifeforms in the Atlanta area (that’s you!)…

A panel of judges on Wednesday appeared poised to hand Georgia a victory in the tri-state water case by sending back a ruling that could have catastrophic consequences for the metro region.

Such a victory would include vacating a looming July 2012 deadline that says metro Atlanta would get only a fraction of the water it is now getting from Lake Lanier if Georgia, Alabama and Florida cannot negotiate a water-sharing agreement by then.

During oral arguments, three judges for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared inclined to settle the issue by sending the case back to the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Buford Dam. It would then be up to the corps to figure out how much water from the man-made reservoir can be used to meet metro Atlanta’s needs.

Hours after the feds and the state agreed that we only had 79 days ’til we were left high and dry, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a revised plan that would allow the Army Corps of Engineers to cut water released from Lake Lanier by 5%.

According to 11 Alive, that would extend the water supply to over a year.

Florida is displeased.

UPDATE: Fresh Loaf urges residents to put down their firearms regardless of the new plan. The agreed upon “79 days” reportedly doesn’t count the ominously-named “dead pool” below the dam gates. From other articles I’ve read, the dead pool has many additional months of water in it. But if it is below the dam gates, the “79 days” may instead be a deadline for the arch-nemesis mussels downstream.