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P.O. Box 2642 | Darien, GA 31305 | Tel 912-437-8164 | FAX 912-437-8765 | |
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P.O. Box 2642 | Darien, GA 31305 | Tel 912-437-8164 | FAX 912-437-8765 | |
| Home | About Us | River News | Wildlife | Advocacy | Education | Events & Meetings | Resources | Links | Newsletters | ||
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Consequencesby The Altamaha Riverkeeper, James HollandHow many times have we been told, " For every action there is a reaction?" There is no place on earth where this holds more true that in the natural ecological world.William Bartram, an explorer of the Altamaha River system in the 1700's, once wrote how amazed he was at the clarity of these streams. He went on to say even the rain-swollen creeks and rivers were clear. Could William Bartram in all honesty make this same statement today? It is extremely doubtful that anyone in the 1700's or for that matter in the 1900's could have predicted how we were going to affect these streams and rivers with the growth and sprawl of our cities today. It would seem we have a never-ending thirst for more development. Now more than ever, many of Georgia's towns and cities are experiencing an explosion in population and development. This is most evident in the counties surrounding the metropolitan area of Atlanta. This huge expansion of people, concrete, pavement, and rooftops is doing once unimaginable damage to streams and rivers in and downstream of the piedmont region. When it rains the streams rapidly fill up with water the color of rusty nails. Shortly after the rain event the same rusty colored water comes cascading down the Ocmulgee River like a demon from hell. Along the way the rust colored water, caused by sediment run off from over development and poor development, starts settling out on the bottom of our creeks and rivers. Municipalities who use water from the streams are faced with major expenses in cleaning and filtering the water for drinking and industrial uses. The sediment is also extremely damaging to the fish population. These are just a few of the consequences of an action taken upstream that people and animals downstream suffer from. The same population explosion in the Atlanta region is causing other problems that people below the metropolitan area will suffer from all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlanta area with its unplanned growth and expansion is poised to run out of water in the next 30-50 years. The Georgia State Legislature created the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWWPD) to address the lack of water for Atlanta and a number of surrounding counties. The " District" as I will call it has chosen to develop a series of reservoirs for water supply uses to sustain the area for the future. If you live in the area of the "District" this is all well and good but if you look carefully at the plan it could be devastating for all areas below Forsyth and all the way to Darien. There appears to be no plan of action to protect the downstream stakeholders from the cumulative impact of the planned and yet unplanned reservoirs. So far as this writer can tell, the reservoirs only have to release low flow conditions from their dams at any given time. This lack of state water planning appears to be creating a water grab situation in much the same way as it happened in the western United States. There is much talk in municipalities downstream of the "District" about creating their own reservoirs to protect their citizens. So far it appears the only plan for water supply is on a first come first serve basis. In other words, if you can show a need for a reservoir, a federal and state permit will be issued and apparently no one will take into account the down steam cumulative impact. As this time, I will relate a situation, much smaller in scale, but with the same consequences to downstream stakeholders. Last year in Laurens County a gentleman decided he wanted to develop his dream community sub division, complete with a series of small ponds. He cleared some of his land and proceeded to excavate pond sites that probably would not have water during the summer months. He came up with the idea to place a dam on nearby Rocky Creek so he could store the water and then pump it to the ponds during the summer to keep them full year round. The plan was flawed in many ways because he did not take into account the downstream stakeholders. Rocky Creek is a spring fed perennial stream and has been used by farmers for irrigation for years but guess what? The farmer downstream had very little water left for irrigation. One day he had a visit from another farmer friend from 4 or 5 miles downstream and he asked him if he had enough water in the creek to irrigate. The friend said yes but it was a lot less than he used to have. The first farmer informed his friend that Rocky Creek was completely dry on his property. The farmers had never known the creek to go dry so they investigated the situation and found the dam. Further investigation proved the developer had no permit for the dam. Since the investigation and the reporting of the incident, the developer was ordered by the state to remove the dam. In no way is this article meant to imply that we are about to dry up the Ocmulgee, Oconee, or the Altamaha. However, I do mean to imply that to prevent a catastrophe we need to investigate what we are doing to a major water supply! The State of Georgia and the federal government should stop right now and complete a comprehensive study on the effect of the proposed reservoirs on the entire Altamaha watershed. Before the state can say the Altamaha River is protected from the upstream cumulative impacts they should first study the current and proposed water withdrawals in the Ocmulgee and Oconee River basins. Once the study is completed and comprehended then the Altamaha River basin and the downstream stakeholders must be brought into the picture. A study needs to be done of the Altamaha, from the confluence (forks) to its terminus at the Atlantic Ocean near Darien to protect this river. The estuarine system of the Altamaha is an extremely complex system, still not completely understood by scientists. The University of Georgia 's Marine Science Program has data that would be helpful and give a head start towards a more thorough examination of the system and of its fresh water inputs. Once we have a better understanding of the Altamaha and the estuarine system we should be able to move forward with a better vision on protecting the entire Altamaha Watershed. To do anything less would be a travesty. There are millions of stakeholders from the headwaters in north Georgia to the sandy beaches in the Atlantic, near Darien. The stakeholders are as diverse as the system itself. They range from farmers, fishermen, nature lovers, and hunters to power plants and manufactures and more. Each and every one of us is a stakeholder in the mighty Altamaha Watershed covering some 14,000 square miles of Georgia. Doesn't it make sense for us to spend the money today and make fewer mistakes along the way than to spend a lot more later trying to undo the mistakes of yesterday? I encourage each and every one of you to contact your legislators and tell them we need to study the system as one. Do not piece-meal the Altamaha Watershed and take a chance of overlooking any of the stakeholders. Treat us all as one and do the right thing by completing a cumulative impact study of the Altamaha River Watershed. Don't create a Rocky Creek mistake in the Altamaha Watershed for the rest of us to have to live with. |
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