Few tend to area's rivers

May 16, 2005
Few tend to area's rivers By TERRY DICKSON
The Times-Union

NAHUNTA -- When Georgia's riverkeepers pushed off for their annual river paddle on a recent Saturday, they needed only four canoes.

That means a lot of rivers are flowing without representation, and Satilla Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers, who has been on the job less than a year, sees a problem.

"There's not enough," he said.

If there is a shortage, it seems to be especially bad in South Georgia, where three rivers that drain a major portion of the state -- the St. Marys, Withalacoochee and Flint rivers -- have no watchdog groups as threats increase.

Including Rogers, who hosted this year's canoe trip, five took the trip May 7. They were Rogers, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Sally Bethea, Canoochee-Ogeechee Riverkeeper Chandra Brown, Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland and Savannah Riverkeeper Frank Carl.

The Satilla Riverkeeper organization formed just last year but already is in the middle of an environmental fight outside its drainage. The organization joined the Athens-based Georgia River Network and the Center for a Sustainable Coast in appealing a state permit issued to the developers of Cumberland Harbor, a huge marina planned along the St. Marys River in Camden County.

"The reason we're on it at all is we're the next closest neighbor. We would not be involved if there was a watershed group down there," Rogers said.

As much as developers rail against the process as costly, Rogers said appeals are necessary and result in better projects.

"Appeals are therapeutic. They clean up the process," he said.

There is interest in rivers in Camden County, however. Rogers noted that several Camden residents serve on the Satilla Riverkeeper's board of directors.

A watchdog group does not need the riverkeeper title and the accompanying sanction of the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Waterkeeper Alliance to be effective, Rogers said. That environmental group oversees more than 130 agencies nationwide dedicated to conserving waterways that have names like coastkeeper, baykeeper, lakekeeper, creekkeeper, canalkeeper, soundkeeper, deltakeeper and channelkeeper.

"It can be a watershed group," Rogers said.

Some already exist in Georgia, especially along the upper reaches of the Oconee River, which meets the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha. The Oconee watershed groups, some of which oversee lakes, met Wednesday to coordinate their efforts, said April Ingle, director of the Georgia River Network. Another active group, the Coosa River Basin Initiative, is looking for an executive director and riverkeeper.

The Georgia River Network helps organize watershed and riverkeeper groups but does not go into communities and advocate their formation, Ingle said.

"Typically, we'll work to help them form if there are citizens ready, willing and able," she said.

She described the existing groups as providing "pretty good coverage" but noted some riverkeepers are stretched thin, especially Holland, who oversees the Altamaha and the Ocmulgee, which stretches from Darien nearly to Atlanta.

"That's a huge area for James to cover," she said.

And the impacts upon the river are widely varied. The Altamaha rises from innumerable rocky creeks and springs in the hills, and is fed by a variety of sources, including large, flowing springs; water seeping from swamps; blackwater creeks; and the discharge pipes from municipal sewage treatment plants and factories.

Rogers can readily identify the threats to the Satilla, such as runoff from farms, forests and city streets and riverside developments. He also points out that other South Georgia rivers have some of the same problems.

He is quick to say, however, "I don't feel qualified to comment on anything north of Macon."

Asked what their own problems are, the other riverkeepers had some common concerns.

"Predatory land uses, big companies coming in and building landfills and commercial development," Brown said.

Carl says the Savannah may be Georgia's most affected stream.

"The assimilation is used up," he said, defining assimilation as a stream's ability to overcome the pollutants that are dumped into it.

"When you use up your assimilation, you're in trouble," he said.

Bethea's charge is 230 miles of the Chattahoochee and its tributaries that drain about 3,600 square miles north of Atlanta and flow into Lake Lanier and West Point Lake. The biggest problem is simply dirt, the water tinged with red clay that runs off from development gone wild, Bethea said.

"Up there, the river is the color of sweet potatoes," she said.

There was a time when the soil settled out in the reservoirs, but now it "blows through," Holland said.

Although it is growing, the riverkeeper and watershed protection movement is playing catch-up. That's why Rogers says: "We're not about conservation. We're about improvement."

Bethea thinks organizations like hers have made a difference by bringing some political and legal pressure to bear on polluters, including governments.

"I think the riverkeeper movement is one of the most important things to happen in Georgia. Atlanta wouldn't be cleaning up its sewers if it weren't for the Upper Chattahoochee," she said.

terry.dicksonjacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405

Three of Georgia's riverkeepers and a Sierra Club lobbyist leave on their annual canoe trip, on the Satilla River. In the near canoe are Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland (left) and Savannah Riverkeeper Frank Carl. In the far canoe are Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Sally Bethea and lobbyist Neill Herring.
TERRY DICKSON/The Times-Union

As Sally Bethea's feet show, Georgia riverkeepers get to relax during their annual trip. But with only five riverkeepers in the state, they have much to do the rest of the time. TERRY DICKSON/The Times-Union

Savannah Riverkeeper Frank Carl says the river he oversees may be the most affected by pollution in the state. He thinks it may no longer be able to overcome the pollutants dumped into it. TERRY DICKSON/The Times-Union

Satilla Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers hosted the group's annual spring canoe trip May 7. The state's newest riverkeepers says there aren't enough to look after all of Georgia's rivers. TERRY DICKSON/The Times-Union

Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Sally Bethea thinks organizations like hers have made a difference by putting pressure on polluters to change and clean up. TERRY DICKSON/The Times-Union