State Rep. Harry Geisinger, R-Roswell, filed a proposal Thursday to settle Georgia’s dispute over its boundary with Tennessee — as long as the Volunteer State would agree to give Georgia a sliver of land on the Tennessee River.

House Resolution 4 essentially seeks to tap the river as a source of drinking water for Georgia, which has struggled to boost its own supply amid record growth and, as of late, drought.

Georgia’s disputed claim to the river dates to 1818, when some say a surveyor flubbed setting the boundary with Tennessee by more than a mile — in essence marking the boundary of Georgia’s northwest corner just south of the river, out-of-reach to the Peach State.

Tennessee officials have rebuffed attempts since then to make any changes.

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State representatives vote on an election overhaul bill SB 175 during a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting at the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building in Atlanta on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

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Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., responds to reporters as the Senate works to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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