Georgia's longstanding water wars with Florida and Alabama are, for the most part, at a standstill.

On Nov. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Alabama, Florida, the city of Apalachicola, Fla., and Alabama Power Co. an extension to file a petition for an appeal of a lower court ruling that favored Georgia.

And that caused little stir from Georgia litigants.

"Such extensions are routinely requested and routinely granted, and we did not object," said Lewis Jones of Atlanta's King & Spalding law firm, which has represented Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission and other local governments in the matter.

But otherwise, the volleys have been quiet on either side of the water supply issue since Georgia celebrated a couple of victories earlier this year at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

In June, a three-judge panel reversed a July 2009 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson that would have severely hamstrung Hall County, and much of metro Atlanta, from withdrawing water from Lake Lanier.

Magnuson's 2009 decision, affecting some 3 million people, imposed a three-year deadline for Georgia to find another source of water, have Congress reauthorize Lanier as a specially designated source of drinking water or negotiate a water-sharing agreement with Florida and Alabama.

The circuit court's decision stated that Congress always intended for the lake to be used as a source of drinking water for the Atlanta area and that previous decisions that said otherwise, including Magnuson's ruling, were based on "a clear error of law."

Alabama and Florida promptly filed appeals.

On Sept. 16, the 11th Circuit rejected a request from Alabama and Florida to reconsider the three-judge panel's ruling.

Alabama quickly announced an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, followed by Florida.

Earlier this month, the two states asked the Supreme Court for a 60-day extension on its petition for appeal.

"This is a significant case ... that raises a number of potentially (appealable) issues," the parties said in their request.

"Billions of dollars are at stake in the dispute, and the decision will have significant consequences for environmental, ecological and economic interests in the region for decades to come."

The petition goes on to say, "Given the importance of the issues of the case, the state of Alabama and the state of Florida must also obtain the input of their respective governor's office and attorney general's office."

Also, Alabama and Alabama Power Corp. are involved in litigation involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management of reservoirs in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin.

Lake Lanier is in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.

Jones has said he is optimistic about the final outcome of the Lake Lanier case.

"Even if the appeal were accepted, I believe that the opinion of the 11th Circuit would be confirmed by the (Supreme Court) because it is thoroughly reasoned and correct," he said.

"But I don't think we're going to get to that stage because I see no reason the Supreme Court would take this appeal."