Senator Gerald Dial Calls for Expedited State Water Plan

State Senator Gerald Dial (R-Lineville) is calling on the Alabama Department of Economic & Community Affairs (ADECA) to renew efforts to develop a state water plan. Alabama is the only state in the southeast without a water plan in place.

This comes on the heels of Governor Kay Ivey’s recent announcement that her Office has disbanded the Bentley-era committee, the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group. The group was charged with developing a water plan by 2013, a deadline which was missed.

Dial was a sponsor of the Water Resources Act of 1990 which gave the Office of Water Resources, under the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, the responsibility to develop a statewide water management plan. Despite that charge, no plan has been produced to date.

“I have spent my entire career fighting for Alabama’s water. The fact that we haven’t been able to put a plan in place is an immense disservice to the people of Alabama,” Dial said. “As often as we experience droughts, we need a plan in place now more than ever.”

Despite being one of the most water-abundant states in the nation, Alabama has no plan for demand on its water resources. This could leave the state strapped during droughts. Just last year, Alabama experienced one of the worst droughts in the state’s history, taxing its water supply. Dial says a plan will ensure that we’re protected against potential shortages and abuses of current water resources.

“Alabama has gone too long without a plan,” Dial said. “It’s time to finish the job we started and put a plan in place that protects our natural water resources.”

Gerald Dial represents District 13 in the Alabama State Senate, which includes all or parts of Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, and Randolph Counties.