Chattahoochee River Watershed Case Study Michael R. Barr, Alicia L. Case & Kim Werdeman May 2013 M.Sc. in Sustainability Management | SEM 607 - Watershed Management National University

1. 1
Chattahoochee River Watershed
Case Study
Michael Barr, Alicia Case, Kim Werdeman
SEM 607 Watershed Management
National University
May 2013

2. Chattahoochee River Background
• Apalachicola-
Chattahoochee-Flint River
Basin (watershed)
• 430 miles long in Georgia
• Mountains of N. GA to Gulf
of Mexico
• Uses: drinking water,
wastewater assimilation,
agriculture, recreation,
power, navigation source: www.wikipedia.org

3. Chattahoochee River Background
• Supplies more than
70% of the water
needed by metro
Atlanta for drinking
• ACF Basin most
biodiverse river
system in N. America
• Subject of a 20+
years legal battle over
water rights and water
quality

4. Impetus for Watershed Plan
• Unprecedented growth in Georgia causes water
resource issues
• GA Environmental Protection Division
– began watershed planning efforts in 1970s
• response to Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Amendments
– develops River Basin Management Planning (RBMP)
• facilitate protection of rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries,
and ground water aquifers
– resource assessments, estimates of current and future
water needs, and those management practices
necessary to meet the region's needs within the
capabilities of the resources.

5. 5
Watershed and Surface Water
Characteristics
• Origins
– tiny spring near the Appalachian
Trail in N. GA
• Terminus
– joins with the Flint River at Lake
Seminole
• Physiography
– Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont,
Sand Hills, Coastal Plain
• Stability
– flows along Brevard Fault Zone

6. 66
Watershed and Surface Water
Characteristics

7. 7
Pollutants and Stressors in the
Watershed
• 2/3 of stream miles in GA
don’t meet designated use
criteria
• 14 reservoirs on the river, 9
lakes
• Major erosion along banks
• City of Atlanta still on
combined sewer
– Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
Lawsuit
photo sources:
www.crowleyapes.wiki.lovett.org www.sherpaguides.com

8. 8
Pollutants and Stressors in the
Watershed
• Point source
pollution
– 500 million gallons
per day of treated
wastewater
discharged
– 150 municipal and
industrial
wastewater
treatment facilities

9. 9
Pollutants and Stressors in the
Watershed
• Non-point source pollution
– urban runoff and agricultural
activities are responsible for 75%
of non-point source pollution
– N. GA development increases
sediment load
– High nitrogen and phosphorus
levels in urban areas
– Power plants and areas of
cleared vegetation increase water
temperatures
– trash and debris
9
photo sources: www.crowleyapes.wiki.lovett.org commons.wikimedia.org

10. 10
Assessment Procedures Used
• Water Quantity
– Chattahoochee River Basin Water Quantity Issues
• Comprehensive part of Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT)
and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basins Study
• 1983 – Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and Governors of Alabama, Georgia and
Florida sign MOA for water management system
• 1990 – ACE Comprehensive Study
• Interstate Compact to be established for administering water allocation formula
• Partition flow of Chattahoochee and Flint River among Alabama, Florida, Georgia.
• Municipal and Industrial Water Uses, Agricultural, Recreation, Hydropower,
Navigation, and Waste Assimilation Capacity.

11. 11
Assessment Procedures Used
• Water Quality
– Generally consistent with Georgia’s Water Quality Assessments for
CWA Section 305(b) reporting to EPA.
– Georgia water quality standards
• Water use classifications
• Numeric standards and narrative requirements
Source: USGS SPARROW Models
Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP)
Loads delivered to streams

12. 12
Monitoring, Gauging, and Sampling
Completed
Basin/HUC NWIS
Sites
Gage
Height
(Ft)
Discharge
(Ft3
/s)
Reservoir Elevation
(above datum, Ft)
03130001 36 34 28 2
03130002 23 22 21 1
03130003 6 6 5 1
03130004 4 4 2 1
HUC 03130001 - Upper Chattahoochee River
HUC 03130002 - Middle Chattahoochee-Lake Harding
HUC 03130003 - Middle Chattahoochee-Walter F. George Rese
HUC 03130004 – Lower Chattahoochee River
National Water Information System (NWIS) Sites - Georgia

13. 13
Monitoring, Gauging, and Sampling
Completed
Listed Pollutant Basin/HUC Main Sources
Fecal Coliform 03130001 - 03130004 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
Siltation 03130001 - 03130003 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
Sediment 03130001 - 03130004 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
Metals 03130001 - 03130002 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
PCBs 03130001 - 03130004 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
BOD 03130001 - 03130002 Urban, Agricultural Runoff
Chlordane 03130004 Agricultural Runoff
Dissolved Oxygen 03130004 Agricultural Runoff
HUC 03130001 - Upper Chattahoochee River
HUC 03130002 - Middle Chattahoochee-Lake Harding
HUC 03130003 - Middle Chattahoochee-Walter F. George Rese
HUC 03130004 – Lower Chattahoochee River
Major Impairments – Chattahoochee River Basin

14. 14
Legal and jurisdictional frameworks
applicable to the watershed
• Chattahoochee River Basin Water Quality Management Plan
– Response to Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972
– 1st watershed planning effort (October 1973) Georgia EPD; 2nd Edition
(1978); Update (1984)
– Plan objectives:
(1) summarize basin water resources use.
(2) identify current/projected problems areas meeting water supply needs.
(3) recommend management criteria (supply/water resources).

15. 15
Legal and jurisdictional frameworks
applicable to the watershed
• River Basin Planning Act (O.C.G.A. 12-5-520 to 525)
• Georgia General Assembly passed in 1992 (92 SB637/AP)
• Provided for development of river basin management plans
• Response to law - River Basin Management Planning (RBMP)
• Chattahoochee RBMP implemented in 1997
• Coordinated aquatic ecosystem management within river basins
• integrated activities across regulatory/non-regulatory programs
• Watershed protection approach changed focus of water
resources management
• Opportunities for stakeholder participation
• Repealed in 2004

16. 16
Legal and jurisdictional frameworks
applicable to the watershed
Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act
(O.C.G.A. 12-5-520 to 525)
• Georgia General Assembly passed in 2004
• Water Council formed
• Law Response – Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan
•Adopted in 2008; Plan guides management of water resources in sustainable
manner
•Statewide policies, management practices, regional planning guidance
•Regional boundaries set

17. Stakeholders
Major goal: Involve citizens
and organizations RBMP
development and
implementation
• Improve the identification
and prioritization of water
quality and quantity problems.
• Maximize the efficient
utilization of resources and
expertise.
• Create better and more cost-
effective management
strategies.
• Responsive to stakeholder
perceptions and needs

18. Stakeholders
• Litigation and politics unable to resolve issues for 22+ years
• ACF Stakeholders, Inc. (ACFS) - a 501(c)3 group formed in
2009 to represent local communities and interests in the
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin.
– Group includes officials from local water authorities, power
companies, and local business and government.
• 95 member organizations, 56 member governing board, 14
different interest groups
– Mission: achieve equitable water-sharing solutions among
stakeholders that balance economic, ecological and social
values, while ensuring sustainability for current and future
generations.
– Scientific modeling, shared vision process
– Goal: Sustainable Water Management Plan

19. 19
Economic and Social Context
• Instream Uses
– Hydropower, flood control,
navigation, recreation, fish &
wildlife protection, sport fishing
– Swimming, boating, sailing,
water & jet skiing
• Wildlife management
• Winter habitat
• Property value decline

20. EPA’s Top Ten Lessons Learned
• Clear visions and goals
“Our vision is that our descendants have
safe, clean and abundant water to meet
their needs in the Middle
Chattahoochee Region; seeking to
accomplish that through reasonable
efforts in cooperation, education, and
preservation.”
Goals: Protecting the quantity, quality, and
environmental resources in the face of
political, climate variablity, and
economic uncertainties.

21. EPA’s Top Ten Lessons Learned
• Good leaders
– Georgia Environmental Protection
Division EPD)
• Coordinators
– Specific areas including authorities,
counties, municipalities
• Compatible needs
– Support state’s economy, protect
public health, enhance quality of life

22. 22
EPA’s Top Ten Lessons Learned
• Implement Plan
– Reviewed and revised every five years
• Partnerships
– Middle Chattahoochee Water Planning Council
– Environmental Protection Division (EPD)
– Department of Community Affairs (DCA)
– Regional Councils, local governments, Corps of Engineers,
public
• Good tools
– Measured by per capita water use
estimates
– Regional survey
– Computer models

23. 23
EPA’s Top Ten Lessons Learned
• Measure progress
– Water demand assessed & projected
– Wastewater flow assessed and projected
• Involvement
– Conservation with voluntary & incentive-based programs
• Small successes
– Tiered priority levels

24. Conclusion
• Assessments
– Comprehensive water development & conservation
plan
– Current & future water needs
• Water & wastewater demand forecasts
– Likely changes
– Gaps between resources & future needs
• Management practices
– Ensure sufficient water to meet future needs
• Computer models
– Test ability of recommended practices

25. References
ACFS Stakeholders, Inc. (2012). Case Statement. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from
http://acfstakeholders.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ACFS_Case_Statement-updated_June_2012.pdf.
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (2012). 10 Facts About the Chattahoochee River. Retrieved May 15 2013, from http://www.chattahoochee.org/river-
facts.php.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (2000). Chattahoochee River Greenway Planning and Implementation Handbook. Georgia Department of
Natural Resources. Atlanta, GA.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (1997). Chattahoochee River Basin Management Plan. Retrieved May 7,
2013 from www.gaepd.org/Files_PDF/plans/chatt/chatt.pdf.
Georgia Water Planning (2010). Georgia’s State Water Plan Middle Chattahoochee Region. Retrieved from
http://www.middlechattahoochee.org/pages/our_plan/index.php.
Holiday, Pamela (2012). The Chatahoochee: A River Facing Peril and Possibility. Sherpa Guides. Retrieved May 29, 2013 from
http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/chattahoochee/chattahoochee_in_peril/.
Middle Chattahoochee Regional Water Plan (September, 2011). Retrieved from http://georgiawaterplanning.org/documents/MCH_Adopted_RWP.pdf.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2013). Upper Chattahoochee Watershed – 03130001. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from
http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=03130001.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2013). Middle Chattahoochee Lake Harding Watershed – 03130002. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from
http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=03130002.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2013). Middle Chattahoochee Walter F. George Rese Watershed – 03130003. Retrieved May 20,
2013 from http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=03130003.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2013). Lower Chattahoochee Watershed – 03130004. Retrieved May 20, 2013 from
http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=03130004.
United States Geological Survey (1986). Hydrologic Events and Surface-Water Resources. National Water Summary. U.S. Geological Survey Water-
Supply Paper 2300.
United States Geological Survey (2013). SPARROW Model, Total Nitrogen Loading. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/mrb/gom/GulfEstuaries-TN/Apalachicola.pdf
United States Geological Survey (2013). SPARROW Model, Total Phosphorus Loading. Retrieved June 1, 2013 from
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/mrb/gom/GulfEstuaries-TP/Apalachicola.pdf
Yeager, Codi (September 20, 2012). Florida Oyster Harvest Suffers As Drought Intensifies Water Battle with Georgia and Alabama. Retrieved May 27,
2013, from http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2012/world/florida-oyster-harvest-suffers-as-drought-intensifies-water-battle-with-
george-and-alabama/.