By Kim Chandler — The Birmingham News

MONTGOMERY — The governors of Alabama, Georgia and Florida said today they are optimistic they can reach an agreement in the states’ 19-year water feud. 

“Are we there yet? No. But I really do believe we are closer now than we have been in the last two years,” Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said. 

“The three of us are good friends. The three of us have worked together. This is something we want to finish,” Riley said. 

Riley, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist met for two hours in Montgomery this afternoon. Perdue said he hopes an agreement can be reached before the governors leave office. He and Riley leave office in 2011. 

“We have agreed the time for resolution is now, and the time for rhetoric is over,” Perdue said. 

The governors offered no specifics on their discussions. They said they want their negotiating teams to create a sharing plan to present to their respective legislatures in 2010. The Alabama Legislature begins meeting in January and concludes in April. Ultimately, Congress must approve any water plan. 

A federal judge in July ruled that Atlanta’s allocation of water from Lake Lanier would revert to 1970′s levels in three years unless Congress approves a new agreement. 

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that the lake wasn’t built to supply water and that the Army Corps of Engineers should have gotten congressional permission before diverting so much drinking water to metro Atlanta. 

Alabama had filed a lawsuit in 1990 challenging the Corps’ operations.