By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile AL – Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue says he will file a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers for accidentally draining 22 billion gallons of water from a major reservoir over the past 52 days. The accident is being blamed on a water level gauge that apparently had a calibration error, which led to water releases totaling a half-inch per day more than necessary. That has left Lake Lanier about two feet below normal levels for this time of year. The mishap comes amidst concern of a drought this summer, and amidst criticism from Georgia officials that the US Army Corps of Engineers has been releasing too much water in order to maintain adequate downstream water levels in Alabama and Florida. It's also the latest development in the ongoing battle over water rights between Alabama, Georgia and Florida over how to share the Apalachicola-Chatahoochee-Flint river basin.