Members of Georgia’s 11 regional water planning councils met Wednesday at Macon State College to compare their sometimes conflicting ideas about how to improve water quality and quantity in the state.
Some councils were considering recommendations such as statewide guidelines for septic systems, or restoring swamps drained for tree planting half a century ago, or “nutrient trading.” (This would essentially allow sewage treatment plants to release more treated waste into streams in exchange for eliminating “non-point” waste sources such as polluted runoff from farms, dirt roads and asphalt.)
The Suwannee-Satilla council, which deals with sparse flow in blackwater rivers, has discussed pumping ground water into streams, as well as bringing in water from other river systems, said Gordon Rogers with the regional council.
The latter possibility, called an inter-basin transfer, is controversial but supported by several councils. Last year, a bill was unsuccessfully floated in the state Legislature to place strict limitations on the practice.
Despite the range of approaches, some repeated themes arose: The need to understand and control “non-point source” pollution, and to limit the use of sewage spray fields as a way of treating cities’ sewage. This treatment method was encouraged by environmental regulators for several decades, but some councils said it removes too much flow from streams.
Representatives from the Middle Ocmulgee council, which includes Macon and Warner Robins, asked other councils how they are coping with gaps in the research provided by the state Environmental Protection Division.
Each council is being given a year to create its long-term, water-use plan based on estimates of future population, water quality and quantity. The Middle Ocmulgee council has complained about the timing and accuracy of this information.
Other council representatives said they are doing the best they can with what they have, and they noted that the plans will be revised, probably in the next five years as new information becomes available.
Regionally, opinions about building new reservoirs varied. Representatives from the Upper Flint water council expressed interest in building reservoirs to help downstream neighbors in Bainbridge, where water forecasts predict a large water supply gap.
But Rogers, who was the Satilla Riverkeeper before being hired this year as Flint Riverkeeper, framed the state’s basic water supply choices differently: “We can go out and build all these expensive man-made facilities that cost like hell. Or we could do these things we’re talking about to incentivize landowners to make changes. … It doesn’t make much sense to take systems that are naturally working and let them go down the drain.”
In response to comments from Middle Georgia council members, Brad Currey, who serves on Atlanta’s Metro North Georgia Water Planning District, agreed that Atlanta is “the elephant in the room” when it comes to water supply.
He noted that Atlanta’s water supply solutions don’t include a pipeline to the Tennessee River or to the aquifer south of the Fall Line, as some in Middle Georgia have feared.
A panel on farm watering spent more time defending the need for farming than talking about specific techniques to control farm water use, although they did mention low-till approaches and low-pressure irrigation systems that waste less.
John Bridges, a farmer in the Lower Flint river basin, insisted there is plenty of water without limiting farmers.
“We’ve been told for 25 years if we kept pumping the way we’ve been pumping, the Flint is going to go dry and Lake Seminole is going to be a marsh,” he said. “Yet we have gone through three droughts and that hasn’t happened. ... There was ample water back then, and there’s ample water now.”
Gerald Dewitt, from the Altamaha water planning council, said farmers need to be educated about sustainable water use and new technology, then given incentives and funding to make changes.
All the farmers emphasized that farmers should be “encouraged” but not required to do anything differently.
A few speakers addressed the councils on behalf of interest groups. Todd Edwards with Association County Commissioners of Georgia noted that the water planning process needs to continue but that future funding is probably shaky. He pleaded with the councils to push for setting up a funding source that could not be raided by the state Legislature to balance the budget.
Sara Barzack with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy voiced frustration that the councils are still awaiting energy forecasts that are relevant to understanding what she dubbed the largest water user in Georgia: the energy sector, which is proposing further water-intensive power plants, including Plant Washington in Middle Georgia.
Regional water councils must submit their water plans to the EPD by January.
To contact writer S. Heather Duncan,
call 744-4225.
