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Two hundred yards below the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, the waters of the Chattahoochee
River begin a 500 mile journey south. The river flows each day through
Atlanta, past Western Georgia cities like Columbus and along the state
boundary between Georgia and Alabama -- past more than a dozen dams and
locks on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. At the Florida-Georgia border
the Chattahoochee meets up with Georgia's Flint River and takes on
a new name --The Apalachicola. Sixteen billion gallons of water flow down
the Apalachicola into the Bay every day making it Florida's largest waterway
and it's at the heart of a tri-state water war.
This documentary is an audio journey to the community at the end of
the drainpipe so to speak -- Apalachicola: a Florida seafood community
that worries about being at the mercy of its northern water using neighbors.
We journey to the city's famous waterfront, hear about the history of this
unique river town and find out how the community's affected by the rapid
development of ecotourism and growth . We also talk with the key
negotiators involved in the current water war involving Alabama, Florida
and Georgia as the clock ticks down on a deadline to resolve differences
over shared river resources.
This website is the online supplement to this hour long documentary.
It features behind-the-scenes pictures, songs about the area, links to
a wealth of information on the topic, and a list of airdates on public
radio stations across the country. Please join us on-line and on the radio for a journey through the tri-state water war: Apalachicola Doin' Time.
Click here to hear some of the key points of the tri-state water war (Requires Real Audio G2)
Also, read the interviews with key players in the tri-state water war:
Sally Bethea -- Executive Director of Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper
Matt Kales -- Program Director at Upper Chattahoochee River Keeper
Steve Leitman -- Environmental Scientist, NW FL Water Management District
Woody Miley -- Director, Apalachicola National Marine Estuary
Lindsey Thomas -- Federal Commissioner of the ACT - ACF River Basin Commission
Now Available: The full transcript of the documentary. (Caution - This file is large and it may take a long time to download)
By Documentary Co-Producer, Donna Green-Townsend
There's a lot at stake for all three southern states: rapid growth in Atlanta creates a strong need to secure drinking water for the future. Farmers want to maintain the ability to irrigate their crops, Alabama residents want to maintain peak hydropower and navigational use, and in Florida, at the end of the Apalachicola River, the seafood industry worries about the future of its oysters, scallops, crabs and shrimp.