This spring, Alabama Rivers Alliance has worked around the clock to produce a comprehensive water plan for our state. Since the 2007 drought, Mitch Reid and Alabama Rivers Alliance have sought to create a water management plan for Alabama. Much effort has been done in the last year and especially this spring to build such a plan.
On April 18, the Joint Permanent Committee on Water Policy and Management held a meeting in Montgomery, where Alabama Rivers Alliance’s Mitch Reid introduced HB 674 and spoke to the committee on the need for a statewide comprehensive water plan. HB 674, the Alabama Water Sustainability and Security Act, would require the Alabama Office of Water Resources to develop a comprehensive water management plan, in partnership with other relevant state agencies and with broad stakeholder input. The meeting was well attended including members of state agencies and supporters of Alabama Rivers Alliance. The same day Governor Bentley sent a letter to our state agencies that govern water (OWR, ADEM, GSA, DCNR) addressing the need to continue to work together with all stakeholders to recommend a statewide water management plan by Dec 1, 2013.
The timing of this bill and movement could not be more urgent. With Atlanta’s inexhaustible expansion, Georgia’s water demands continue to grow. With our state’s well-documented conflict over water with Georgia and other states, the need for updated water policy in Alabama is NOW!
Currently the Alabama Rivers Alliance is working with the Governor’s task force to identify and reach out to and educate the various stakeholders and interest groups who should play a part in developing the statewide water management plan. We are also working to ensure that meaningful and enforceable environmental protections are included in an water management regime that the state adopts. We will also be working with the members of the Water Committee to move forward with legislation that will set the foundation for this Water Plan by framing the parameters of the plan and providing the necessary legal foundations for it.
Additionally, Mitch Reid has been communicating with water managers from across the country to build a knowledge base of plans that have been successful in other states. He has presented at both the River Management Society’s symposium in Asheville, North Carolina, and at the National River Rally in Portland, Oregon where he gained valuable feedback and insight on how to protect our rivers and water resources through sustainable water management.
For more information, click here to read Executive Director Cindy Lowry’s OpEd about the need for water policy in our state.
Alabama Rivers Alliance 