WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  Congressman Mike Rogers said this week that the Army Corps of Engineers must live up to its commitments and continue to provide Alabama with its fair share of water to help Alabama manage the devastating drought.

Rogers made the comments after he and members of the Alabama delegation met with the Corps of Engineers in Washington to discuss water usage in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) Rivers Basin.

“Alabama continues to suffer through an historic drought, and it is critical that the Corps provides Alabama its fair share of water. Not only must the Corps honor its commitments to provide Alabama additional water during the drought, it should also make sure water in Georgia is being distributed and used like it is supposed to be for the benefit of both states,” Rogers said. 

As Governor Riley’s office highlighted recently, the ACT River Basin is the primary source of water for a substantial portion of Alabama.  At the headwaters of the ACT River Basin in Georgia sit Lake Allatoona and Carters Lake, two federal reservoirs built with federal money and operated by the Corps.

On July 24th Rogers said the Corps began increasing the amount of water sent downstream into Alabama to help provide some relief. In recent weeks, the Corps indicated they are considering cutting back the releases from the Georgia reservoirs into Alabama.  Rogers said any move to reduce these releases would cause real harm to many communities and industries in East Alabama at a time when reservoirs and rivers are already reaching historic lows.

“The entire Alabama delegation is united, along with Governor Riley, to ensure our state receives its fair share of water, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure the Corps follows through on its commitments,” Rogers added.

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