Phil, Water supply issues are extraordinarily hot topics throughout the South, especially around the larger metropolitan areas like Atlanta. Depending on the particular issue and the watershed, there are a variety of agencies and advocacy groups that may help you out. Chris Horton who worked for Arkansas Game & Fish is now the Conservation Director or maybe Assistant Director for BASS. He has an excellent reputation for getting things done and could probably point you in the right direction. So that is kind of the party line on who to contact. Along another front, depending on how the usage is impacting a local community, you might work through the mayor/city council with the agency that manages the watershed. In that case, you might end up working with the Corps of Engineers, Tennessee Valley Authority, or even a watershed management agency specific to Alabama. Any time one of this type of agency wants to make a change to a water use, then they will have to meet specific environmental (National Environmental Policy Act or state equivalent) requirements. Those requirements can be used as a tool to force certain compliance with previously approved management procedures. You might also be able to make the argument that failure to maintain certain water levels and/or flows adversely impacts an endangered or threatened species. In that case, the action is probably barred by the Endangered Species Act and you can contact the U.S. Fish & Wildlife to determine if the the action would result in a “taking”. Then you can sic USF&W on them and get the use restricted. I have never looked into it, but Alabama probably has a state-specific water use scheme. In Arkansas we have surface and groundwater regulations that are administered by the Arkansas Natural Resouces Commission (formerly Ark. Soil & Water). Several western states have imposed various water use limitations that include the ability of the local water authority to write tickets and issue citations for improper or over use. Finally, there are probably conservation/green groups that have agendas you may or may not agree with in cities like Mobile. These groups tend to be very good at doing a lot without much funding. While I can usually stomach someone like Nature Conservancy, even the more moderate groups are being hijacked by more radical members all the time (IMHO). So I have to ask – are we talking about a water pik? John
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