MYRTLE BEACH — South Carolina needs to work with its neighbors to make sure it has enough water for the future, a state lawmaker warned an environmental conference this week.

“We’re now having water problems. It seems like they are gravitating from the West to the East,” state Sen. Bob Waldrep, R-Anderson, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday.

The state needs to work out how water in rivers flowing into South Carolina will be used upstream, Waldrep told about 200 people attending the S.C. Environmental Symposium, an annual meeting of developers, businesses, environmental groups, planners and state regulators.

South Carolina especially needs to seek a water compact with Georgia because Atlanta is a major player in determining water use in the Southeast, Waldrep said.

In fact, there has been some talk about building a pipeline from Lake Hartwell along the state line in the northwest corner of the state to Atlanta, Waldrep said.

“I don’t want to be paranoid about Atlanta, but there have been some population shifts here, and Atlanta is a major, major player in that part of the world,” he said.

Georgia might be willing to talk because they have had problems striking a water deal with Florida, spending more than $30 million in attorney fees, Waldrep said.

“It’s my prayer that we will be communicating with the state of Georgia through our representatives, their governor and our governor to come up with a mediated idea about water use,” he said.

Gov. Mark Sanford has created a committee to review the state’s water laws and suggest changes to lawmakers.

South Carolina also needs to prepare its water resources for another devastating drought, said state Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway, chairman of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee.

In the summer of 2002, rivers and lakes dropped to record low levels and the Pee Dee River system threatened to dry up as a four-year drought reached its peak.