Sewage gushes into the Chattahoochee River, raising the levels of bacteria and cancer-causing contaminants to such heights that swimming, drinking and fishing becomes dangerous. Fishermen, boaters and families are forced to stay away from the water. Kayakers wear nose plugs and wetsuits but still get sick after entering the Chattahoochee. Communities that rely on the river for water must pay more to treat it and make it safe to drink.
This scene is from 1989. Fast-forward 24 years, and great strides have been taken to make the river cleaner and safer. But today, Forsyth County is taking a major step backward, and the result has again put at risk the waterway and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has issued a permit to Forsyth for a brand-new discharge that will allow millions of gallons of treated sewage to enter the river every day. The permit is 100 times less protective of water quality than the limits set for other discharges in the Atlanta area. Just upstream, the Gwinnett County discharge into Lake Lanier is held to higher standards and tighter limits.
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has worked for more than four years with state officials and in the courts to change the permit to set stricter limits on the amount of bacteria and phosphorous Forsyth will be allowed to dump into the river.
Of course, it’s legal to pump some treated sewage into the waterway. But Forsyth should be held to the same treatment standards as Gwinnett and other metro governments to protect the people who rely on the river.
Instead, Forsyth has spent more than $500,000 of taxpayers’ money to oppose more protective limits. Meanwhile, according to the county, the costs associated with a more protective permit would translate at most to just $3 a month per ratepayer — about as much as a person might pay for two bottles of water.
A stronger permit would make for a healthier and safer Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, the first federally designated “water trail” in the country. A stronger permit would ensure the river continues to bring millions of dollars in recreation and tourism spending to Georgia. And a stronger permit would save treatment costs for municipalities and counties that take water from the river downstream from Forsyth’s discharge point.
But Georgia’s EPD won’t step up and take the simple steps necessary to keep the river safe. This lax approach already has hurt other waterways, including the Ogeechee River, the Altamaha and the Flint, as noted in the 2012 Dirty Dozen Report released last November by the Georgia Water Coalition.
Georgia’s elected leaders are failing to adequately protect one of our most precious and important resources. The people of Georgia, and the rivers they rely on, deserve better.
Sally Bethea is executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental organization.
