By Associated Press
Atlanta GA – Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is acknowledging what his counterpart from Alabama suggested last week the outlook isn't promising for a water-sharing agreement between those two states and Florida.
Perdue said Tuesday he is "less than optimistic" about the talks succeeding. He also said he does not believe Alabama and Florida share Georgia's urgency to make a deal. He asserted that Georgia's drinking water shortage is more critical than the water problems faced by its neighbors.
The three states have been fighting over water rights in the region for two decades. In talks mediated by the Bush administration, the governors had been slated to reach a long-term deal by Feb. 15. They missed that deadline and agreed to extend their talks temporarily.