By Alabama Public Radio
Columbus MS – Representatives from Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee will meet July 18th to discuss the use of water in the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Waterway Executive Director Thomas Griffith says the cities of Tupelo and Corinth have plans to directly withdraw water from the waterway channel ... and that has raises interstate issues related to water quality, interstate flow volume, navigation and broader environmental concerns. A number of communities along the waterway would be affected. The shipping channel follows the route of the Tombigbee River and connects with the Tennessee River just above Pickwick Dam, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile. The called meeting suggests that no local government or industry along the Tenn Tom Waterway can expect to gain withdrawal-permit approval from now on without agreement across state lines. It will be held July 18th at Tenn-Tom headquarters in Columbus Mississippi. The public is invited to attend.