Georiga Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey General Interest Publication 4
1881 First flowing-artesian well in Georgia near Albany. Albany designated as Artesian City (accessed April 21, 2003, at http://www.albanyga.com/cvb/hist1871.html)
1903–05 Severe drought
1910 Wells open to the Clayton aquifer ceased flowing at Albany (Clarke and others, 1984)
1916 Flood, 8–21 inches rainfall (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1925 Flood, 8–11 inches rainfall (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1927 U.S. Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to study the Apalachicola River and its tributaries (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1973)
1930 Construction on dam completed, creating Lake Blackshear
1930–35 Severe drought throughout United States (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1938–44 Regional drought (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1948 Flood, 6–13 inches rainfall (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1950–57 Severe regional drought (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1957 Construction on Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam completed, creating Lake Seminole
1968–71 Drought, variable severity
1970s Rapid expansion of irrigation pumpage
1970–80 Irrigation water use in Georgia increased by a factor of about 12 (Pierce and others, 1984)
1972 Georgia General Assembly passed Ground-Water Use Act requiring permitting of all non-agricultural users withdrawing 100,000 gallons per day or more
1977 USGS began cooperative water-resources program with Albany Water, Gas, and Light Commission
1980–82 Regional drought (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1984 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed water assessment for ACF River Basin Water Management Study (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1984)
1985 USGS began cooperative study with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
1985–89 Regional drought (Golden and Hess, 1991)
1988 Permit required by GaEPD for agricultural irrigation
Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin Conflict
1990 Alabama sues U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over plan to increase surface-water allocation to serve Atlanta
1991 Federal lawsuit suspended in lieu of Comprehensive Study
1993 USGS addressed Ground-Water Supply Element of Comprehensive Study
1994 Flood, more than 13 inches rainfall from Tropical Storm Alberto during 24-hour period (Stamey,1996)
1997 Water supply concerns led Alabama, Florida, and Georgia to sign a preliminary interstate water compact, intended to lay ground-work for the equitable use and availability of water resources in the region while protecting river
1998–2002 Regional drought (Barber and Stamey, 2000)
2000 Flint River Drought Protection Act was enacted by GaEPD to ensure that Flint River flows are adequate to support fish and wildlife during times of severe drought
2001 Georgia General Assembly created Joint Comprehensive Water Plan Study Committee (SR142) (accessed August 10, 2004, at http://www. cviog.uga.edu/water/sr142.html)
2002 State of Georgia purchases a portion of Swamp of Toa for wildlife management area
2003 Portion of Swamp of Toa designated as National Important Bird Area; passage of House Bill 579 requiring measurement of all agricultural water use; Compact negotiations lapse
2004 House Bill 237 enacted, creating Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act (accessed August 10, 2004, at http://www.legis.state. ga.us/legis/2003_04/fulltext/hb237.htm)
[2004] Currently, “the states… are battling over water sharing in federal courts in Washington, DC, Gainesville, Ga., and Birmingham[, Alabama, and] many legal experts have predicted the fight will end in the U.S. Supreme Court” (Shelton, 2004)
Recent USGS publications on Georgia or Georgia Water-Resources Information
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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