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North Carolina and Georgia have much in common. Both have coastal, piedmont and mountain regions. Each state has 9 million citizens and is projected to have more than 12 million by 2030. Both have worked hard to diversify their economies. Both are major producers of food and fiber. Each state has sprawling metropolitan areas and struggling small towns and counties. Both also have major population centers located in the piedmont with headwaters streams and limited groundwater resources.

When it comes to water resources management, Georgia is different from North Carolina. In fact, the overwhelming majority of states are different from North Carolina. Since the 1970s, when Jimmy Carter was governor, the state of Georgia has regulated large withdrawals of surface and ground water. Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida and most other Eastern states also regulate large withdrawals of water. Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina are the only states that do not. The S.C. General Assembly is considering legislation to regulate large withdrawals this year.

Georgia is different in other important respects. It has integrated its water supply, drinking water and water-quality programs into a Watershed Protection Branch to coordinate water-withdrawal and wastewater-discharge permitting.

The state is also playing a major role in water planning and management. It created the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District for the Atlanta metro region in 2001 to coordinate both efficiency and supply options. The "metro" district includes 15 counties and 90 municipalities. The General Assembly enacted the Georgia Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act in 2004. In 2008, the Republican-controlled legislature adopted the Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan -- a plan to plan, and Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue committed more than $30 million over three years to develop regional plans and a statewide plan. The recession has hit Georgia as hard as North Carolina. Funding for the Georgia water plan remains a priority.

It should be noted that water issues are a higher priority in Georgia in part because the state is in major conflicts with its neighbors. It has been in federal court with Alabama and Florida over flows in the Chattahoochee River downstream from Atlanta for almost 20 years. Over-pumping of ground-water resources in the Savannah region has impacted South Carolina. Some Georgia legislators even want to move their state line with Tennessee (and North Carolina) to gain access to the Tennessee River.

Water issues are also a high priority in Georgia because the business, local government and environmental communities have made it a high priority. The Atlanta Chamber understands that Atlanta cannot sustain its growth without water resources.

Georgia is investing the $30 million in water-resource assessments and planning. It is assessing its surface waters and ground waters. It is analyzing water-quality constraints. It is improving its network of water-monitoring stations. It is paying for a science-based water resources management system. It is forecasting regional population growth and demand for water supplies. The state is also paying to facilitate the development of 10 regional water plans.

The state will provide each of the 10 regional districts and the Atlanta metro district with a water budget -- the amount of water available to them to meet their drinking water, industrial processing, energy production, agricultural, wastewater and other needs. Each district will develop a plan -- likely a combination of measures to increase efficiency and increase supply -- to live within its budget. Georgia will use regulations and financial incentives to implement the plan. See www.georgiawaterplanning.org.

On March 13, at the amazing Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Gov. Perdue kicked off the regional planning effort. More than 300 representatives of the water districts, water resources professionals and the public participated.

Georgia voters will elect a new governor in 2010. They will probably be seeking candidates with the best water plans.

About The Writers

Bill Holman is director of state policy at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

Richard Whisnant is a professor at UNC-CH's School of Government.