Both states, as well as Alabama, have been involved in a water-use dispute for several years, mainly over the ever-increasing amount of water taken for metro Atlanta's suburban sprawl of lawns, pavement, sewage, and other pollution. Georgia has also lobbied Congress to end navigation on the Appalachicola and lower Chattahoochee, to conserve more water during droughts. Keeping the two rivers at a navigable depth during these times requires large releases from dams upstream, sending potential drinking water dowstream for shipping, and often dropping lakes to levels dangerous to boaters.
Other concerns include harvests of oysters in Apalachee Bay, which require a large enough flow of fresh water to prevent excessive saltwater intrusion from the Gulf. The cost of dredging silt, much of it from uncontrolled growth across metro Atlanta's fine red clay soil, has also been called wasteful to float so little ship traffic.