New conversations about water in Georgia emerge against familiar backdrops of population growth, litigation with neighboring states, the ever-present possibility of drought, generational land use, infrastructure needs and other policy and resource questions.
There may be, as is often suggested, “two Georgias.”
Nevertheless, the water flowing through the rural and urban parts of our state inextricably connects our destinies. That’s why 65 leaders recently gathered in Savannah to start a dialogue about working to sustain Georgia’s private working forests and the significant contributions they make to downstream communities. An important theme we identified was the connection between forests and drinking water.
Many of Georgia’s streams and rivers begin or flow through forested land. These forests provide a vital filtration system for 134 water supply reservoirs. When water reaches metro Atlanta, it is managed according to plans shaped by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. The district brings together 15 counties and 92 cities that serve more than half of Georgia’s population to identify ways water should be managed to ensure it supports a range of uses.
Ninety percent of Georgia’s 24 million forested acres is privately owned and managed in compliance with State Forestry Best Management Practices. Long before water reaches reservoirs or treatment systems, it has first been filtered by trees. As it flows down these water supply watersheds and arrives in Metro Atlanta, it is conserved according to district plans that include tiered conservation pricing (the more you use the more you pay), rebate programs to replace old and inefficient infrastructure, technologies to find and fix leaks in water systems and public education programs. Through district plans and related conservation measures, the Atlanta region has achieved a 10 percent drop in total water use despite a population increase of a million people.
According to “Forests to Faucets,” a 2013 report from the Forest Guild and others, well-managed forests serve “as a form of “natural infrastructure,” filtering “pollutants, sediment and harmful bacteria out of the water, absorbing water into soils to be slowly released into rivers and streams and providing protection to downstream communities by buffering potential flood waters.” The Metro Water District takes the next steps in protecting this precious resource by engaging more governments and water systems than anywhere else in America.
The district will soon begin the process of updating its plans for the Metro Atlanta region’s storm water, wastewater, water supply and water conservation. This update will involve integrating the plans and anticipating growth while preserving the environment. The district and its plans reflect a clear understanding of shared stewardship in the watershed: the work of protecting water quality and drinking water supplies begins before water reaches the region and continues downstream.
The vast majority of the forests that filter our water and deliver a range of other economic, recreational and ecosystem services are grown by private landowners who depend on healthy markets to keep their land planted in trees for generations. In addition to strong markets for wood and fiber from their forests, landowners depend on good public policy, including fair taxation for forest land that uses virtually no taxpayer-funded services.
We have started the conversation to find ways to collaborate to protect all of our waters – across Georgia. And that's new.
Steve McWilliams is president of the Georgia Forestry Association. Katherine Zitsch is director of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.
