By Ray Henry / AP

Georgia has asked a federal appeals panel to overturn a judge's ruling threatening to drastically restrict the water supply to greater Atlanta unless an agreement is reached by 2012 in a long-running dispute with Alabama and Florida.

In the appeal announced Thursday, Georgia argues that U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson overreached last year by issuing an order that could seriously curtail drinking water for Atlanta residents. The state said the judge misinterpreted laws governing who can take water from Lake Lanier.

Magnuson's "order ... will be devastating to three million residents who have no meaningful alternative source of water,'' lawyers for Georgia said in court documents.

Florida and Alabama have argued that Georgia takes too much water from Lake Lanier, drying up river flows into their states. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals did not immediately schedule arguments in the case.

The dispute came to a head in July when Judge Magnuson's ruled that Georgia had little legal right to water from Lake Lanier.

The lake is formed by a dam on the Chattahoochee River, which flows through Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

That ruling gave Georgia, Alabama and Florida, which have fought over water rights since the 1990s, three years to reach an agreement. Otherwise, the judge said he could reduce the supply of water that Atlanta can draw from Lake Lanier to levels set in the 1970s, when the city was far smaller.

Besides appealing the ruling, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has restarted talks with the governors of neighboring Florida and Alabama. Georgia lawmakers also recently approved water conservation bills that state officials hope will show it is serious about saving water.

STATE NEWS BRIEFS SEN. ISAKSON IN HOSPITAL

Georgia's junior senator remains in an Atlanta hospital where he's being treated for an irregular heartbeat and a blood clot in his leg.

A spokeswoman for Isakson said Wednesday the 65-year-old Republican was doing well under doctors' supervision at Piedmont Hospital.

He was admitted on Monday night after doctors detected an irregular heartbeat and a blood clot in his right calf during a routine checkup to monitor his recovery from a bacterial infection the week before.

Isakson spokeswoman Joan Kirchner said the senator's latest health setback would not impact his re-election plans. He is seeking a second term in the Senate.

BAKER COULD BENEFIT FROM HEALTHCARE STANCE

By defying Gov. Sonny Perdue and refusing to file a lawsuit over a new federal health care law, Georgia's attorney general has energized his campaign for governor.

Thurbert Baker is suddenly the target of a Republican impeachment effort in the Georgia House. For the state's low-key chief lawyer, the onslaught of GOP ire is winning him credibility among the Democratic party base and a flurry of attention in Georgia and beyond.

It's good news for Baker, who's been struggling to gain ground against former Gov. Roy Barnes, widely seen as the front-runner in the crowded five-way Democratic primary.

Rick Dent, a Democratic strategist said the dustup helps, allowing Baker to look "a little like a folk hero fighting the Republicans.''

EIGHT QUALIFY TO REPLACE NATHAN DEAL IN CONGRESS
By Shannon McCaffey / AP

Eight candidates have qualified to run in a May 11 special election in North Georgia to replace Nathan Deal in Congress, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Six Republicans, one Democrat and one independent filed paperwork and paid the needed fees by Wednesday's noon deadline.