After victory over Florida in water war, Georgia will let farmers drill new irrigation wells

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — For more than a decade, farmers in parts of southwest Georgia haven’t been able to drill new irrigation wells to the Floridian aquifer. That’s because Georgia put a halt to farmers drilling new wells or taking additional water from streams and lakes in 2012. Change is coming, though. Gov. Brian Kemp says Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division will begin accepting applications for new agricultural wells starting April 1. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the state of Florida’s lawsuit arguing Georgia farmers were using too much water from the Flint River.