EPD To Host Town Hall Meeting In Rome.

Georgia’s Environmental Protection Divisions will host a town hall meeting on May 21 from 6-8 p.m. at The Forum in Rome to receive public input on its Comprehensive Statewide Water Plan.

The Plan is scheduled to be completed July 1 and submitted to the Georgia Water Council, a 14-member board chaired by EPD Director Dr. Carol Couch. The Water Council will finalize the plan before it is submitted to the General Assembly for approval during the 2008 legislative session.

The water plan will have far-reaching impacts on Northwest Georgia as it will set policy for numerous issues, including water conservation, reservoir construction, interbasin transfers, and water quality. It is expected to lead to water management plans for each of the state’s major river basins.

At a similar town hall meeting in Rome on Jan. 22 attended by more than 100 people, interbasin transfers took center stage as citizens of the Coosa Valley expressed their concerns over the Etowah-to-Chattahoochee interbasin transfer.

Each day the Cobb-Marietta Water Authority withdraws about 55 million gallons of water from the Etowah River. Of that 55 million, about 25 million gallons a day (MGD) is transferred to the Chattahoochee River basin, used in homes and businesses there, and then sent downstream with the Chattahoochee. This water transfer is scheduled to grow to almost 70 MGD in the next 25 years.

“Those of us in Northwest Georgia view this interbasin transfer as a threat not only to our rivers and the wildlife that depends upon them, but also to the economic future of the Coosa Valley,” said Joe Cook, Coosa River Basin Initiative Executive Director and Riverkeeper who has served on a committee for the Coosa River Basin advising the Water Council. “It could mean lower lake levels, more polluted rivers and less water for economic growth in our region.”

The meeting May 21 will be the last opportunity for citizens to address members of the Water Council in person prior to the finalization of the plan July 1.

“It is critical that the Water Council hear the concerns of the citizens of Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama,” Cook said. “We believe the water plan represents our most meaningful chance at securing some protection from escalating interbasin transfers that fuel growth in Metro Atlanta at our expense.” 

Citizens can learn more about the Water Council and the Statewide Water Management Plan by visiting http://www.gadnr.org/gswp/.