Mediation originally scheduled for today between Hall County and the city of Gainesville over Cedar Creek Reservoir has been postponed because officials aren't prepared for the formal process.

The two governments are struggling to agree on who has control of the water in the reservoir and the financial details of how it will fit into a larger system with the proposed Glades Reservoir.

"We want to get Cedar Creek up and running as soon as we can so we can meet the needs of the whole county just in case" U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson's ruling stands, Mayor Ruth Bruner said.

In July 2009, Magnuson ruled that Lake Lanier is not an authorized source of drinking water.

He gave Georgia three years to resolve the shared water situation with Alabama and Florida or face not being able to use the lake as a water source. Gainesville and Buford would still be able to make withdrawals but only at mid-1970s levels.

Hall County Public Information Officer Nikki Young said the date for the nonbiding mediation was unofficial because it had not been approved in a formal vote by the Hall County Board of Commissioners or the City Council.

"Members of the commission and council met and they've agreed to move forward with the mediation, but they just have not set a date yet. It's just still a little bit too soon in the negotiation process," Young said.

The city and county agreed in September to nonbinding mediation at the request of Georgia Environmental Protection Division Director Allen Barnes and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle.

Barnes indicated at the time that he would not release the needs assessment letter the county needed to move forward with permitting of the planned Glades Reservoir until Gainesville and Hall County would agree to mediation over Cedar Creek.

In December, the board of commissioners discussed making the process open to the public and including all members of the commission and council in discussions.

Now, the terms of the mediation are once again up for discussion.

Young said the commission and City Council will need to sign an agreement and then independently vote to accept the terms, including when it will take place and what officials will be present.

The city has suggested the mediation stay between just Gainesville's mayor and mayor pro tem and county chairman and vice chairman. The county commission will likely discuss the mediation at its Feb. 10 meeting.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Bruner suggested the council appoint herself, Mayor Pro Tem Danny Dunagan and appropriate staff members to go into mediation.

"We can't tell them what to do, but I would suggest their chair and vice chair be part of the mediation," she said. "This should be a good step forward toward getting any mediation for Cedar Creek.

Earlier this month, Bruner and Dunagan met with Chairman Tom Oliver and Vice Chairman Scott Gibbs to discuss how to proceed on reaching a compromise over the embattled reservoir.

"Our primary staff is different now. A lot of changes have taken place in the last month. So Feb. 2 is perhaps a little bit sooner than it used to feel," Young said, referring to the January departure of several top county officials, including administrator Charley Nix who was heavily involved in negotiations with the city. "We're still progressing like we always have. (Public Works Director) Ken Rearden is still our point person on this."

Dunagan said he thinks city and county efforts to resolve the issue amongst themselves have deteriorated.

"Some of them changed their minds. And it wasn't the city it was the county. Some of the negotiations, we thought we were moving forward and they decided to change directions a little and that's where it is today," Dunagan said. "It's just not getting anywhere. Maybe we can get it resolved this way."

Oliver said the county recognizes there is still a lot to be discussed.

"I think we understand now that we do have some challenges to move forward with and I think it's positive what we're working toward," Oliver said. "There's a fair amount of unknowns. We'll continue our negotiations."

The mediation will likely be scheduled in late February or March.

Young said putting the mediations at a later date will not affect the time line the county is working on to submit the federal permit application for the Glades Reservoir.

Rather than build a separate water treatment plant at Glades, the county plans to pump the water from the Glades Reservoir into Cedar Creek Reservoir, where Gainesville will have a treatment plant and distribution lines. The city is the drinking water distributor for most Hall County residents.

"Just because mediation has been postponed doesn't mean the project has been postponed," Young said. "They're all continuing the work they've been doing toward resubmitting our permit to the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)."