The general welfare and public interest require that the water resources of the state be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent to which they are capable, subject to reasonable regulation in order to conserve these resources and to provide and maintain conditions which are conducive to the development and use of water resources.
(Ga. L. 1972, p. 976, § 2.)
Law reviews.- For annual survey of local government law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 267 (2006).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
ALR.
- Right of appropriator of water to recapture water which has escaped or is otherwise no longer within his immediate possession, 89 A.L.R. 210.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Factors considered for groundwater withdrawal permit.
- Georgia environmental department was not required to grant a city's application for a groundwater withdrawal permit merely because no adverse effect on other users was shown as there were other circumstances that supported denial of the permit request, pursuant to Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 391-3-2-.06(2) and O.C.G.A. § 12-5-96(d); the department was entitled to weigh the costs to the city of purchasing water against other public policy concerns, such as the need for conservation of limited water resources pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 12-5-91. City of Rincon v. Couch, 276 Ga. App. 567, 623 S.E.2d 754 (2005).
Denial of groundwater permit proper.
- Georgia environmental department's analysis and decision to deny a city's application for a groundwater withdrawal permit complied with O.C.G.A. § 12-5-96(d) as a matter of law as the decision supported the policies of the Groundwater Use Act of 1972, as set out in O.C.G.A. § 12-5-91, the department was entitled to place more emphasis on the city's need or necessity for a new water withdrawal under O.C.G.A. § 12-5-90(d)(1) over other factors, and the department was not statutorily or regulatorily required to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law to show that the department considered all ten factors under § 12-5-96(d). City of Rincon v. Couch, 276 Ga. App. 567, 623 S.E.2d 754 (2005).