Number: RL34326
Title: Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Drought: Federal Water Management Issues
Authors: Nicole T. Carter, M. Lynne Corn, Amy Abel, Stan Mark Kaplan, Eugene H. Buck, Resources, Science, and Industry Division; Cynthia Marie Brougher and Kristina Alexander, American Law Division 
Abstract: This report provides an analysis of federal water management issues in the ACF, particularly during drought. The report underscores that decisionmakers are faced with the tradeoff of the current harm that reduced flows may cause aquatic species against the benefits of maintaining water in storage for future multipurpose use later. The first section introduces the basin's water resources and related federal issues. The second section summarizes current federal reservoir operations. The third section discusses how the municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses of ACF waters affect federal reservoir management. The fourth section covers how species protections affect Corps operations and how Corps operations may affect protected species. The report concludes with comments about the ACF in the broader context of federal water policies and projects. Many aspects of the complex ACF management issues are not discussed in detail (e.g., ACF navigation and recreation issues, the influence of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) basin).
Pages: 36
Date: May 1, 2008