Etowah HCP Press

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 2, 2002

Our View: State should study UGA's water conservation plan

The University of Georgia Institute of Ecology is onto something that makes eminent good sense for the Etowah River basin: a planning process that could help save Lake Allatoona and provide a model for Georgia's 14 major river basins.

The plan was inspired by the deteriorating Lake Allatoona, which is fed by the Upper Etowah River. Lake Allatoona could become Lake Algae if something isn't done to lower the phosphorous pouring into it from agriculture and development, which cause the algae to grow and clog the lake.

After community organizations contacted the UGA institute for help, Laurie Fowler, professor of law and sociology at the institute, and Bud Freeman, an expert on fish, worked on a plan. Recently, they presented the first phase of the three-year Etowah Regional Habitat Conservation Plan to the eight counties in the river basin. Except for Bartow County, which hasn't responded yet, all other county commissions have indicated support for the initial phase.

"Locally elected officials need to be in on the ground floor," says Fowler. Local officials are essential because they have the power to enact ordinances to control polluted stormwater, preserve green buffers and plan wise land use. The Etowah Regional Habitat Conservation Plan may demand stricter land use regulations.

Nor only are recreation and fishing at stake, but so is drinking water. The Allatoona reservoir is a major drinking water source for Cobb, Paulding, Cherokee and Douglas counties, as well as Marietta and a number of cities.

The Etowah is also home to several endangered and protected species of fish and darters. It's the only place in the country, for example, aside from a small section of the Conasauga River in northwest Georgia, that nourishes the frecklebelly madtom catfish - as strikingly unusual as its name, according to Freeman.

Even bass fishing in the Etowah won't thrive without careful protection, Freeman says. Local cooperation is essential because if you can't halt pollution in creeks and tributaries, you can't prevent ending up with a dirty river.

For local governments that adopt a plan such as that proposed for the Etowah basin, there are immediate benefits. For one, local governments are eligible for grant money from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the purchase of green space.

In addition, a habitat conservation plan may provide easier environmental planning for developers. Once such a plan is in place, the Corps of Engineers can grant a special permit stating that not every new residential or business development must be reviewed under the mandates of the Endangered Species Act.

A state legislative committee will make recommendations this fall for a statewide water plan. It ought to include incentives for communities to work together across county lines according to natural river drainage basins - like the folks on the Etowah River are starting to do.