Water is top priority for 2010 Metro Atlanta Chamber ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - In 2010, area business leaders need to push the state to fix its pressing water problems.

That was the message today as the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 150th anniversary.

WABE's Charles Edwards reports

Metro Chamber President Sam Williams says his group has always had a hand in Atlanta's biggest issues and projects from the civil rights movement to the 1996 Olympics.

Now, Williams says the next big task is water. A Judge has given Georgia, Alabama and Florida 3 years to figure out how to share water from Lake Lanier. Without a deal, metro Atlanta could lose half its drinking water. Williams says business leaders will push solutions on to state lawmakers.

WILLIAMS: "We need to conserve more water in metro Atlanta. We need to find ways to capture more water. You can't drill a well in metro Atlanta. It's granite. So, we have to build more reservoirs. That takes 10 to 14 years."

However, the chamber is not always successful. It failed to convince lawmakers to pass transportation improvements. That's another one of the chamber's 2010 priorities.

Charles Edwards, WABE News. © Copyright 2012, WABE