Chattahoochee River basin management plan 1997

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLAN 1997
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION

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Preface
This report was prepared by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), Georgia Department Natural Resources (EPD). It represents a snapshot of the EPD files and, in certain cases, information has been presented in summary form from those files. The reader is therefore advised to use this condensed information with the knowledge that it is a summary document and more detailed information is available in the EPD files.
Comments or questions related to the content of this report are invited and should be addressed to:
Environmental Protection Division Georgia Department of Natural Resources Floyd Towers East 205 Butler Street, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334

)OLQW5LYHU%DVLQ 0DQDJHPHQW3ODQ
Preface
This report was prepared by the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), Georgia Department Natural Resources (EPD), as required by O.C.G.A. 12-5-520 and as a public information document. It represents a synoptic extraction of the EPD files and, in certain cases, information has been presented in summary form from those files. The reader is therefore advised to use this condensed information with the knowledge that it is a summary document and more detailed information is available in the EPD files.
Comments or questions related to the content of this report are invited and should be addressed to:
Environmental Protection Division Georgia Department of Natural Resources Floyd Towers East 205 Butler Street, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Contents

Chattahoochee River Basin Plan

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ES-1
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.1 Purposes and Organization of This Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 1.2 Georgia's Watershed Protection Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
1.2.1 The Beginning of RBMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 1.2.2 RBMP Framework Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7 1.2.3 Key Benefits of RBMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16 1.2.4 Making the Transition to RBMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18 1.3 Chattahoochee Basin Planning Schedule and Opportunities for Stakeholder Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18 1.3.1 RBMP Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18 1.3.2 ACT/ACF Comprehensive Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
2. River Basin Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.1 River Basin Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 2.1.1 River Basin Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 2.1.2 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 2.1.3 Physiography and Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 2.1.4 Surface Water Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9 2.1.5 Ground Water Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19 2.1.6 Biological Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
2.2 Population and Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28 2.2.1 Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28 2.2.2 Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30 2.2.3 Land Cover and Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30
2.3 Local Governments and Planning Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49 2.3.1 Counties and Municipalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52 2.3.2 Regional Development Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52
2.4 Water Use Classifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54
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Contents
2.4.1 Georgia's Water Use Classification System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54 2.4.2 Water Use Classifications for the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . 2-55 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-58
3. Water Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
3.1 Drinking Water Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 3.1.1 Drinking Water Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 3.1.2 Drinking Water Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 3.1.3 Drinking Water Permitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
3.2 Surface Water Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 3.2.1 Surface Water Supply Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 3.2.2 Surface Water Supply Demands and Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 3.2.3 Surface Water Withdrawal Permitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15 3.2.4 Flooding and Floodplain Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
3.3 Ground Water Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 3.3.1 Ground Water Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 3.3.2 Ground Water Supply Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 3.3.3 Ground Water Supply Permitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
4. Environmental Stressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.1 Sources and Types of Stressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 4.1.1 Point Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 4.1.1.1 NPDES Permitted Wastewater Discharges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 4.1.1.2 Combined Sewer Overflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 4.1.1.3 NPDES Permitted Stormwater Discharges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12 4.1.1.4 Non-discharging Waste Disposal Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14 4.1.2 Nonpoint Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 4.1.2.1 Nonpoint Sources from Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24 4.1.2.2 Nonpoint Sources from Urban, Industrial and Residential Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28 4.1.2.3 Nonpoint Sources from Forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29 4.1.2.4 Atmospheric Deposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30 4.1.3 Flow and Temperature Modification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-31
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Chattahoochee River Basin Plan
4.1.4 Physical Habitat Alteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34 4.2 Stressor Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
4.2.1 Nutrients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34 4.2.2 Oxygen Depletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37 4.2.3 Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43 4.2.4 Fecal Coliform Bacteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43 4.2.5 Synthetic Organic Chemicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-45 4.2.6 Flow and Temperature Modification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-47 4.2.7 Sediment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-47 4.2.8 Habitat Degradation and Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-49
5.0 Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5.1 Assessment of Water Quantity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 5.1.1 Municipal and Industrial Water Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 5.1.2 Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 5.1.3 Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 5.1.4 Hydropower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 5.1.5 Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 5.1.6 Waste Assimilation Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5.2 Assessment of Water Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 5.2.1 Water Quality Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 5.2.2 Surface Water Quality Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4 5.2.3 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13 5.2.4 Assessment of Water Quality and Use Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15 5.2.4.1 Hydrologic Unit Code 03130001 (Upper Chattahoochee River) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25 5.2.4.2 Hydrologic Unit Code 03130002 (Middle Chattahoochee River from Atlanta to Columbus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30 5.2.4.3 Hydrologic Unit Code 03130003 (Middle Chattahoochee River from Columbus to Lake Walter F. George) . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37 5.2.4.4 Hydrologic Unit 03130004 (Lower Chattahoochee) . . . . . . . . . 5-39
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
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Contents
6.0 Concerns and Priority Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
6.1 Identified Water Quality Planning and Management Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 6.2 Short Term Water Quality Action Priorities for EPD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 6.3 Priorities for Water Quantity Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9 6.4 Priorities for Additional Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
7.0 Implementation Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
7.1 General/Basin-Wide Management Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 7.1.1 General Surface Water Protection Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 7.1.2 Management of Permitted Point Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4 7.1.3 Nonpoint Source Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7 7.1.4 Floodplain Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17 7.1.5 Wetland Management Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18 7.1.6 Stakeholder Involvement/Stewardship Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19 7.1.7 Ground Water Protection Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
7.2 Targeted Management Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24 7.2.1 Hydrologic Unit 03130001, Area A (Headwaters to Lake Lanier) and Lake Lanier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-25 7.2.2 Hydrologic Unit 03130001, Area B (Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek near Atlanta) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-35 7.2.3 Hydrologic Unit 03130002, Area A (Peachtree Creek to West Point Lake) and West Point Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48 7.2.4 Hydrologic Unit 03130002, Area B (West Point Dam to Columbus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-59 7.2.5 Hydrologic Unit 03130003 (Columbus to Lake W. F. George) . . . . 7-67 7.2.6 Hydrologic Unit 03130004 (Lake W. F. George to Lake Seminole) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-76
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-80
8.0 Future Issues and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
8.1 The Need for Continuing and Adaptive Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1 8.2 Working to Strengthen Planning and Implementation Capabilities . . . . . . . . 8-2 8.3 Addressing the Impacts from Continued Population Growth and Land
Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 8.4 Entering the Next Iteration of the Basin Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
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Chattahoochee River Basin Plan
Appendix A: River Basin Planning Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1 Appendix B: Georgia Instream Water Quality Standards For All Waters:
Toxic Substances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 Appendix C: Point Source Control Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1 Appendix D: NPDES Permits (Georgia and Alabama) for Discharges in the
Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1 Appendix E: Support of Designated Uses for Rivers, Streams, and Lakes in
the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1
E-1. Support of Designated Uses for Rivers and Streams in Hydrologic Unit 03130001 of the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-2
E-2. Support of Designated Uses for Rivers and Streams in Hydrologic Unit 03130002 of the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-15
E-3. Support of Designated Uses for Rivers and Streams in Hydrologic Unit 03130003 of the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-26
E-4. Support of Designated Uses for Rivers and Streams in Hydrologic Unit 03130004 of the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-30
E-5. Support of Designated Uses for Lakes and Reservoirs in the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1994-1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-31
Appendix F: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-1
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Contents
List of Figures
1-1. River Basin Management Planning Vision, Mission, and Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5 1-2. River Basin Management Planning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6 1-3. Water Resources and Related Environmental Laws and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7 1-4. Major River Basins in Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8 1-5. Georgia River Basin Management Planning Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10 1-6. Major River Basin Groups for River Basin Management Planning in Georgia . . . . . . . 1-13 1-7. Georgia River Basin Management Planning Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14 1-8. Stakeholder Relationships for Georgia River Basin Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15 1-9. Chattahoochee River Basin Planning Schedule, 1994-1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19 1-10. Chattahoochee River Basin Planning Schedule, 1999-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20 1-11. Chattahoochee River Basin Local Advisory Committee Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
2-1. Location of the Chattahoochee River Basin within the ApalachicolaChattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2-2. Hydrologic Units and Counties of the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 2-3. Major Land-resource areas in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin . . . . . 2-8 2-4. Mean Daily Discharge for the Chattahoochee River at Columbia, AL (USGS
Station 02343801) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10 2-5. Hydrography, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 (Headwaters
to Peachtree Creek at Atlanta) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11 2-6. Hydrography, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002 (Peachtree
Creek at Atlanta to Oliver Dam near Columbus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12 2-7. Hydrography, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003 (Oliver Dam
near Columbus to Walter F. George Lock and Dam) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13 2-8. Hydrography, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130004 (Walter F.
George Lock and Dam to Lake Seminole) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14 2-9. Location of Mainstem Dams and Power-Generating Plants in the Chattahoochee
River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15 2-10. Hydrogeologic Units Underlying the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint
River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21 2-11. Population Density in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, 1990 . . . . . 2-29
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Chattahoochee River Basin Plan
2-12. Land Use, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001, USGS 1972-76 Classification Updated with 1990 Urban Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31
2-13. Land Use, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002, USGS 1972-76 Classification Updated with 1990 Urban Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33
2-14. Land Use, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003, USGS 1972-76 Classification Updated with 1990 Urban Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-35
2-15. Land Use, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130004, USGS 1972-76 Classification Updated with 1990 Urban Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37
2-16. Land Cover 1990, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-41 2-17. Land Cover 1990, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-43 2-18. Land Cover 1990, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-45 2-19. Land Cover 1990, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-47 2-20. Silvicultural Land in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50 2-21. Agricultural Land in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-51
3-1. Surface Water Intakes, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 3-2. Surface Water Intakes, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002 . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 3-3. Surface Water Intakes, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003 . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 3-4. Surface Water Intakes, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130004 . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
4-1. Location of Municipal Wastewater-Treatment Plants in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
4-2. NPDES Sites Permitted by EPD, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 . . 4-7 4-3. NPDES Sites Permitted by EPD, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin,
HUC 03130002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8 4-4. NPDES Sites Permitted by EPD, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin,
HUC 03130003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9 4-5. NPDES Sites Permitted by EPD, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin,
HUC 03130004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10 4-6. Land Application Systems, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 . . . . . 4-16 4-7. Land Application Systems, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002 . . . . . 4-17 4-8. Land Application Systems, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003 . . . . . 4-18 4-9. Land Application Systems, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 031300004 . . . . 4-19 4-10. Landfills, Upper Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 4-11. Landfills, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
vii

Contents 4-12. Landfills, Middle Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22 4-13. Landfills, Lower Chattahoochee River Basin, HUC 03130004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23 4-14. Dynamic Water Quality Resulting from Buford Dam Releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-33 4-15. Total Phosphorus Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Cobb Co. Intake
above Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 4-16. Total Phosphorus Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Hwy. 92 below Atlanta . . . 4-38 4-17. Total Phosphorus Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Omaha above Lake
W. F. George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-39 4-18. Ammonia Concentration (as N), Chattahoochee River at Hwy. 92 below Atlanta . . . 4-40 4-19. Nitrite plus Nitrate Concentration (as N), Chattahoochee River at Hwy. 92
below Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-41 4-20. Dissolved Oxygen Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Hwy. 92 below
Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-42 4-21. Fecal Coliform Bacteria Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Hwy. 92 below
Atlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-44 4-22. Fecal Coliform Bacteria Concentration, Chattahoochee River at Omaha above
Lake W. F. George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-46
5-1. Chattahoochee Basin Trend Monitoring Network Station Locations, 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 5-2. Chattahoochee Basin Trend Monitoring Network Station Locations, 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8 5-3. CRMP Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 5-4. Assessment of Water Quality Use Support in the Upper Chattahoochee River
Basin, HUC 03130001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17 5-5. Assessment of Water Quality Use Support in the Middle Chattahoochee River
Basin, HUC 03130002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19 5-6. Assessment of Water Quality Use Support in the Middle Chattahoochee River
Basin, HUC 03130003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21 5-7. Assessment of Water Quality Use Support in the Lower Chattahoochee River
Basin, HUC 03130004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
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List of Tables

Chattahoochee River Basin Plan

2-1. Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) of the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 2-2. Major Dams and Impoundments in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17 2-3. Threatened or Endangered Wetland and Aquatic Plant Species in the
Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28 2-4. Population Estimates for the Chattahoochee River Basin by HUC (1990) . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30 2-5. Land Cover Statistics for the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49 2-6. Agricultural Operations in the Chattahoochee River Basin, 1987-1991 (Data
Supplied by NRCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-52 2-7. Georgia Counties in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53 2-8. Georgia Municipalities in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53 2-9. Regional Development Centers in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-54 2-10. Georgia Water Use Classifications and Instream Water Quality Standards for
Each Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55 2-11. Chattahoochee River Basin Waters Classified as Drinking Water or Recreation . . . . . 2-56 2-12. Chattahoochee River Basin Waters Designated as Trout Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
3-1. Projected Municipal and Industrial Water Demand, Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . 3-8 3-2. Permits for Surface Water Withdrawals in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 3-3. Agricultural Water Demand for the Chattahoochee River Basin (Georgia and
Alabama) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 3-4. Active Municipal and Industrial Ground Water Withdrawal Permits in the
Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
4-1. Major Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Discharges with Permitted Monthly Average Flow Greater than 1 MGD in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . 4-2
4-2. Summary of NPDES Permits in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 4-3. Major Industrial and Federal Wastewater Treatment Facilities in the
Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6 4-4. Status of Atlanta Combined Sewer Overflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 4-5. Permitted Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems, Chattahoochee River Basin . . . 4-13 4-6. Wastewater Land Application Systems in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
ix

Contents 4-7. Estimated Loads from Agricultural Lands by County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26 4-8. List of Watersheds Potentially Impacted by Agricultural Nonpoint Source
Pollution in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-27 5-1. Georgia Water Use Classifications and Instream Water Quality Standards for
Each Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 5-2. Georgia Narrative Water Quality Standards for All Waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4 5-3. Water Quality Standards for West Point Lake and Lake Walter F. George . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 5-4. Major Lakes in the Chattahoochee River Basin Ranked by Sum of Trophic State
Index Values, 1980-1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 5-5. Parameters for Fish Tissue Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 5-6. Fish Species Identified in Metropolitan Atlanta Tributary Streams (Couch et al.,
1995), Arranged in Decreasing Order of Number of Native Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29 6-1. Summary of Concerns in the Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 6-2. Summary of Sources of Lack of Full Support of Classified Uses in the
Chattahoochee River Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 6-3. EPD's Short-term Priorities for Addressing Waters Not Fully Supporting Use . . . . . . . 6-8 7-1. Chattahoochee River Basin Agricultural BMPs - General Appropriations under
EQIP for FFY 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
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Chattahoochee River Basin Plan
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Ac Ac-ft ACF ACT/ACF ADEM ARC ARS BMPs BOD CAES Cd CFR COE CPUE CRMP CRP CSGWPP CSMTF CSO Cu CWA DCA DNR DO EPA EPD EQIP FEMA FFY FIP FSA ft ft2/d ft3/s gal/m

acre acre-feet Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa/Apalachicola-Chattahoochee Flint Basin Alabama Department of Environmental Management Atlanta Regional Commission USDA Agricultural Research Service best management practices biochemical oxygen demand University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences cadmium Code of Federal Regulations U.S. Army Corps of Engineers catch per unit effort (fishing) Chattahoochee River Modeling Project Conservation Reserve Program Comprehensive State Ground Water Protection Plan Community Stream Management Task Force Combined Sewer Overflow copper U.S. Clean Water Act Georgia Department of Community Affairs Georgia Department of Natural Resources dissolved oxygen U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Georgia Environmental Protection Division Environmental Quality Incentives Program Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal fiscal year Forestry Incentives Program Farm Service Agency feet square feet per day cubic feet per second gallons per minute

xi

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

GDA GEMA GFA GFC GPC GPD GSWCC Hg HUC IBI kg km2 kW LAS LUST MCL meq/l mg/l MG MGD mi2 ml MLMP MOU MPN MS4 M&I NFIP NOI NPDES NPS NRCS NURE NWI Pb PCB ppm RBMP

Georgia Department of Agriculture Georgia Emergency Management Agency Georgia Forestry Association Georgia Forestry Commission Georgia Power Company gallons per day Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission mercury Hydrologic unit code (USGS) Index of Biotic Integrity kilogram square kilometer kilowatt land application system for wastewater leaking undeground storage tank Maximum Contaminant Level for drinking water milliequivalent milligrams per liter million gallons million gallons per day square miles milliliter Major Lakes Monitoring Project memorandum of understanding most probable number (for quantification of fecal coliform bacteria) municipal separate stormwater system municipal and industrial National Flood Insurance Program notice of intent National Pollution Discharge Elimination System nonpoint source Natural Resources Conservation Service of USDA National Uranium Resource Evaluation National Wetlands Inventory (USF&WS) lead polychlorinated biphenyl parts per million; equivalent to mg/l River Basin Management Planning

xii

RBP RC&D RDC RM SCS SOCs STATSGO SWCD TMDL TTSI UGA USACE USDA USF&WS USGS WET WHIP WPCP WRD WRP WWTP Zn g/l 7Q10

Chattahoochee River Basin Plan
Rapid Bioassessment Protocol Resource Conservation and Development Council Regional Development Center river mile Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) Synthetic Organic Chemicals State Soil Geographic Database (USDA) Soil and Water Conservation District Total Maximum Daily Load, as specified in the CWA Georgia combined lake trophic state index University of Georgia U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Geological Survey whole effluent toxicity Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program water pollution control plant Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Wetland Reserve Program wastewater treatment plant zinc micrograms per liter 7-day average low flow with a once-in-ten-year recurrence interval

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Executive Summary

Chattahoochee River Basin Plan

Overview
This document is a management plan for the Chattahoochee River basin. It has been produced as part of Georgia's River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) approach to water resource management, begun in 1993, and fulfills requirements of the Georgia River Basin Planning Act . The purposes of this basin planning process are to assess water quantity and quality, target priority issues, and encourage efforts to support effective water resources management. This plan provides information on key river basin characteristics, describes the status of water quality and quantity in the Chattahoochee River basin, identifies present and future water resource demands, presents and facilitates the implementation of water protection efforts, and enhances stakeholder understanding and involvement in basin planning.
Georgia's RBMP is an effort to facilitate the protection and enhancement of rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries, and ground water through comprehensive and integrated, regulatory and nonregulatory water resources management. The river basin provides a functional unit for coordinating management efforts that integrate terrestrial, aquatic, geologic, and atmospheric processes. This is the first river basin management plan produced under RBMP for the Chattahoochee River basin. RBMP provides an iterative, cyclical approach to water resources management, and the Chattahoochee River basin plan will be updated every five years. A draft of the plan was reviewed by governmental partners, the Chattahoochee River Basin Advisory Committee, and the public. Stakeholder meetings were in Helen, Atlanta, and Columbus in September, 1997 to solicit comments and recommendations regarding the river basin management plan.
It is a basic premise of the RBMP approach that river basin management is more efficient and effective when all stakeholders--government agencies, local governments, farmers, industries, landowners, environmentalists, etc.--participate in the process, and share knowledge and resources. A major purpose of this plan is to provide information to the public and encourage involvement of interested stakeholders in the management of the resources of the Chattahoochee River basin.
Basin Description
The Chattahoochee River covers a distance of 434 miles in a narrow swath across the state of Georgia, beginning in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Union County, flowing past metropolitan Atlanta, reaching the Georgia/Alabama border at West Point Lake, and thence south to terminate in Lake Seminole. The basin contains parts of the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces that extend throughout the southeastern United States. Total area of the basin is 8,770 square miles, of which 6,140 square miles (70%) lie in Georgia, 2,574 square miles (29%) lie in Alabama, and 56 square miles (1%) lie in Florida.
In its mountain headwaters above Lake Lanier, the Chattahoochee is free flowing, with many trout streams. From Lake Lanier south, the river has been highly modified and controlled by human activities. In the Atlanta metropolitan area, the river is the major source of drinking water for a burgeoning urban population; it also assimilates much of the area's treated
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Executive Summary
municipal wastewater discharges. South of Atlanta, the basin land use again becomes more rural, with the exception of the Columbus area. From West Point Lake to Lake Seminole, flow in the river is strongly controlled by a series of eleven dams, which variously provide hydropower generation, water supply, recreational opportunities in impoundments, and, below Columbus, commercial navigation.
As of 1990, nearly two million people lived in the Chattahoochee River basin, about three quarters of them in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Despite the large population, much of the basin is rural in character, and about 66 percent of the total land area is occupied by forest land. Agriculture is also important, with about 12% of the land area occupied by row crops, livestock and poultry production, and other agricultural operations.
Water Quantity
Water in the Chattahoochee River basin supports many uses including aquatic life, municipal drinking water, industrial water supply, agricultural irrigation, recreation, hydropower production, navigation, and waste assimilation. Water withdrawals from surface and ground water sources have increased substantially in the last quarter century, resulting in greater demands on what are essentially finite supplies. This trend is expected to continue, with municipal and industrial demand projected to increase by approximately 39 million gallons per day (MGD) over the next 20 years, and agricultural demand by about 35 MGD for the same period. As demands increase, it may become increasingly difficult to satisfy competing uses.
Concerns about the availability of water for future needs have prompted the States of Alabama, Florida and Georgia to form an interstate compact for management of the Alabama-CoosaTallapoosa and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACT/ACF) basins. This agreement is expected to establish some form of commitment for Georgia to allow specified quantities of water from the Chattahoochee River basin to pass to Alabama and Florida. The agreed upon water allocation formula must provide sufficient water supply to satisfy Georgia through the year 2050 and keep sufficient flows in the river to support waste assimilation, aquatic habitat, and fishery needs. Such a commitment will not establish how water would be used within Georgia, but it is possible that there may be limitations on the total amounts of water that can be utilized by Georgians from the Chattahoochee River.
Water Quality
Water quality within the Chattahoochee River basin is generally good, and has been improving as major point source discharges of wastewater have been placed under stringent controls during the last three decades. For instance, conditions in the Chattahoochee below Atlanta have improved dramatically since the early 1970's as more advanced treatment of municipal wastewater was required. Yet, some waters in the basin currently are only partially supporting or not supporting their designated uses, and require additional management.
Protection of water quality in Georgia is regulated by a number of federal and state laws, including the Federal Clean Water Act, and the State Water Quality Control Act. An important component of the state's water quality protection efforts is the promulgation of water quality standards, which consist of water use classifications, general narrative standards, and numeric standards for water quality parameters and toxic substances. Water quality standards serve as a target for water protection efforts and as a baseline for water quality assessment.
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Chattahoochee River Basin Plan

Georgia carries out monitoring of water quality to assess water quality and support the state's new RBMP approach. Monitoring includes monthly sampling for a number of parameters at a number of stations each year, sampling of surface water and fish tissues for toxic substances, intensive stream studies, monitoring of major lakes, facility compliance sampling, and assessment of biological communities. As part of the RBMP approach, many monitoring stations are rotated to focus on different basins each year, on a five-year cycle. Every two years, the state publishes a water quality assessment report, required by section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. Based upon monitoring results and other evidence, waters of the state are assessed as supporting, partially supporting, or not supporting designated uses, as described in section 5 of this river basin plan. The most recent water quality assessment report was published in 1996; the assessments of waters of the Chattahoochee River basin are provided in Appendix E.

Water quality is affected by changes to the environment (referred to as stressors) which may adversely affect aquatic life or impair human uses of a waterbody. It may be a direct load of a pollutant, or other source of stress. Identified stressors currently affecting water quality in some segments of the Chattahoochee River basin may include metals, fecal coliform bacteria, sediment, oxygen-depleting waste, and alteration of natural flows.

Stressors come from many different sources. In the past, the major focus of management was on concentrated point sources from municipal or industrial water pollution control facilities. But the pollution impact on Georgia's streams has shifted over the last two decades. Streams are no longer dominated by untreated or partially treated wastewater discharges which resulted in little or no aquatic life and threats to human health. The wastewaters are now treated, oxygen levels have recovered, and fisheries have followed. However, other sources of pollution are now affecting Georgia's streams. These sources are referred to as nonpoint, and consist of mud, litter, bacteria, pesticides, fertilizers, metals, oils, grease, and a variety of other pollutants which are washed from rural and urban lands by stormwater. Expected growth in population and employment in the basin will mean more potential stress from stormwater runoff and nonpoint source loading.

Priority Issues and Management Strategies
Within a few localized waterbody segments of the Chattahoochee River basin, water quality problems are attributed to permitted point source discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants or industries. EPD has regulatory authority over these discharges, and has instituted corrective actions.

The vast majority of identified water quality problems are attributed, in whole or in part, to nonpoint sources. A full list of priority issues for water quality management in the Chattahoochee River basin is provided in Section 6, and proposed management strategies are discussed in Section 7. Among the most important and widespread issues are the following:



Violations of water quality standards for metals associated with urban nonpoint source

runoff;



Violations of water quality standards for fecal coliform bacteria, associated with both

urban and rural nonpoint source runoff; and

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Executive Summary



Erosion and sedimentation, variously associated with construction, agriculture, forestry,

and unpaved rural roads, leading to degradation of aquatic habitat, which can reduce

biological diversity.

Other problems, such as low dissolved oxygen, elevated water temperatures, nutrients, and residual contamination of fish tissue by banned toxic organic chemicals (PCBs, Chlordane) are also important within specific segments.

Because there are so many small sources of nonpoint loading spread throughout the basin, they are not amenable to control by state agency permitting and enforcement, even where regulatory authority exists. Rather, control of nonpoint loading will require the cooperative efforts of many partners, including state agencies, individual landowners, agricultural and forestry interests, local county and municipal governments, and Regional Development Councils. A key reason for adopting the RBMP approach is to provide a forum for coordinating the activities of these many partners. Key aspects of this management approach include developing equitable management strategies which do not impose an unfair burden on any one sector, and encouraging planning for the future as population increases and land uses change. In urban areas, local governments will need to play a major role in curbing nonpoint source pollution through zoning and land management and stormwater management.
The strategies presented in Section 7 recognize the need to develop cooperative management approaches involving all partners. Accordingly, important aspects of these strategies are the identification of key participants and roles, and proposed action plans, to address a specific priority issues over the next five year cycle of the basin plan. Because this is the first basin-wide management plan for the Chattahoochee River basin under RBMP, it is expected that these strategies will evolve and improve over time.

Next Steps
This plan constitutes another step in management of the water resources in the Chattahoochee River Basin, but not the final step. It is important for all to understand that there will never be a final step. Management is ongoing and dynamic because changes in resource use and condition occur continually, as do changes in management resources and perspectives. Therefore, management planning and implementation must remain flexible and adapt to changing needs and capabilities.

Following a brief period to focus on implementation of this plan, the Chattahoochee River basin will enter into its second iteration of the basin management cycle (scheduled for April, 1999). The next cycle will provide opportunity to review issues that were not fully addressed during the first cycle and to reassess water and identify new issues. Partners will not have to start from scratch during the next iteration. The information in this document can serve as a foundation for future work.

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