From the May 2015 “Sustainable Water Management Plan,” released by the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Stakeholders Inc:
The waters of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) Rivers and the Apalachicola Bay bind and divide both the geography of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and the users of the water.
This Basin is a water-rich region, yet one where attention to sustainable water resource management has become imperative. Although most needs are met in normal and wet years, the limits of the Basin’s capacity to support competing water needs are being experienced under dry and drought conditions and more often in some locations and for some water uses. Improvements to the current conditions in the Basin are possible, however; and planning for dry and drought years is critical.
The economic well-being of the southern U.S. and the sustainability of the waters in the ACF Basin are intertwined. However, decades of conflict have set the stage for deeply held positions over the future of the region. The regulatory arena is in flux, and litigation casts a shadow of uncertainty. It is time to turn this around.
ACF Stakeholders, Inc. (ACFS) urges the citizens of this Basin to focus on that which unites, rather than divides, us. We can and must act with common purpose to manage our shared water resources sustainably. Water efficiency and conservation measures, creative alternatives to water control operations, predictive drought management, investment in scientific knowledge for future decisions, and transboundary coordination and cooperation offer real ways to improve environmental, social and economic conditions in this Basin.
The ACFS mission is to change the operation and management of the ACF Basin to achieve equitable and viable solutions among stakeholders that balance economic, ecological, and social values and ensure that the entire ACF Basin is a sustainable resource for current and future generations.
ACFS members have sought to develop a mutual understanding of the diverse interests in the Basin, to explore how the Basin operates, and to reach consensus on recommendations that, taken as a whole, would improve conditions in the Basin. This Sustainable Water Management Plan (SWMP) incorporates what ACFS has learned so far about positive choices that can start now.
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