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Saved by David Goldsmith
on February 2, 2009 at 2:08:20 pm

There have been numerous reports that indicate the quantity of water removed from the ACF river basin and the impacts on the region.

In 1999 the Army Corp of Engineers in a joint program with the EPA developed a computer model to analyze the ACF basin and examined the types of industrial water usage. The report highlights the type of agriculture activity and both point source discharges and non-point removals. ACF water quality.pdf

In 2007 the Army Corps of Engineers prepared a PowerPoint presentation that documents the challenges of industry due to the recent droughts. ACFDrought2007 by Corps of Engineers.pdf

Chattahoochee Rver Basin

The water in the ChattahoocheeBasin is used for public and industrial supply, irrigation, power generation, navigation, and recreation. Surface water is the primary water source in the PiedmontProvince of the ACFBasin because groundwater yields from crystalline rock aquifers are low.

Drinking Water: TheChattahoocheeRiver system provides drinking water for about 3.5 million people, including 70% of the people in metro Atlanta (approximately 450 million gallons per day). Water withdrawals are by public or private suppliers and are delivered for domestic, industrial, and commercial use.

Wastewater Assimilation: The River carries away, and assimilates, our treated wastewater, however, it is challenged to handle increasing volumes because of its small size, as it flows through metro Atlanta. Approximately 100 public and private wastewater treatment plants discharge more than 250 million gallons per day into the upper ChattahoocheeBasin.

Agriculture: The Basin’s forest cover consists chiefly of second-growth hardwoods and planted pine. Timber is the leading cash crop in the Basin. Total farmland in the Basin has decreased since the 1970s, however, poultry production has been increasing during that same period. Crops with the largest harvested acreage include peanuts, corn, soybeans, and cotton.

The following document provides a map and discussion of the land use of the basin: Economy and Land Use.doc

Flint River Basin

The Flint River finds its origins just south of Atlanta and, with only three reservoirs, is free-flowing for significant stretches of its 350 river miles. The basin of about 8,500 square miles supports a significant agricultural economy. Water extraction is mainly in the form of irrigation from Floridan Aquifer groundwater sources.

Municipal and Industrial Water: Permitted municipal and industrial water withdrawals from the FRB total approximately 120 mgd on a monthly average from surface-water sources (mostly north of the fall line), 88 mgd from aquifers other than the Floridan aquifer, and 30 mgd from the Floridan aquifer in Subarea 4. Actual surface water use in 2004 was approximately 50 mgd. These withdrawals from the Floridan are equivalent to 3% of the agricultural ground-water use.

Agriculture: Water use in the FRB below the fall line is dominated by agricultural irrigation, which comprises 90% of the water used during the April-September growing season. Overall, approximately 160,000 acres are irrigated from surface-water throughout the FRB and approximately 403,000 acres from Floridan aquifer wells in Subarea. Approximately 250 mgd are used basin-wide by agricultural surface-water users in July (the peak month) of a typical irrigation season during a drought year, and approximately 950 mgd are withdrawn from Floridan aquifer irrigation wells at the peak of the irrigation season during a drought year. These withdrawals reduce streamflow, and can degrade aquatic habitat in the lower FRB. Surface-water withdrawals have a more direct effect than do ground-water withdrawals.

The above information is discussed in the following report prepared by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division: Flint River Basin Regional Water Development and Conservation Plan (2006)