Water quality in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, 1992-95

Abstract

The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of numerous property owners who provided access to sampling locations on their land. We also wish to acknowledge the numerous organizations and individuals who have helped distribute our publications to the interested public. Appreciation also is extended to the following personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey: James B. McConnell for his tireless efforts to provide technical review of many of the NAWQA reports; Maurice D. Winner for his thoughtful reviews and approval of untried report products; and finally Caryl J. Wipperfurth, and Carolyn A. Casteel of the Georgia District publications unit for their timeliness and attention to quality. Photographs without credit listed were taken by one of the report authors. • Front Cover-Photograph of downtown, Atlanta, Ga., March 30, 1997, reprinted from Georgia Aerial Surveys, Inc., and published with permission. • Back Cover-Photographs of Horse Trough Falls in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River (photograph by Alan M. Cressler, USGS); Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River, built in 1904 to power trolley cars in downtown Atlanta; and the Apalachicola Bay Estuary, located at the mouth of the ACF River Basin-the bay is prized for commercial fishing and oyster and shrimp harvesting. From its headwaters on the forested slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chattahoochee River begins its course toward the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, the river flows through poultry production areas of northern Georgia, the growing metropolis of Atlanta, and numerous reservoirs surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands of Georgia and Alabama. The Flint River begins beneath the runways of Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, but is quickly surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands, as well. Where Georgia, Alabama, and Florida meet, the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers join to form the Apalachicola River. The Apalachicola River finishes the journey to the Gulf of Mexico winding its way through large expanses of coastal forests of the Florida Panhandle. The seemingly untouched headwaters and mouth of this river system give few hints to its role as a vital source of water for drinking, generating power, recreation, assimilating wastes, irrigating crops, transportation, and producing seafood. The action is in between.

Nutrient Uptake in a Large Urban River1

“…The generation of hydropower caused large fluctuations in discharge within and between days; discharge often doubled over a 24‐h period. The Chattahoochee River provides drinking water for portions of Atlanta and receives most of Atlanta’s wastewater effluent (Frick et al. , 1996).…”

Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems

“…The basin has a drainage area of 50 764 km 2 . Fifty-eight per cent of the basin is forest, 29% of the basin is agriculture, and 5% of the basin is urban and suburban land uses (Frick et al, 1998). Average precipitation ranges from 114 to 152 cm per year.…”

Pesticide transport with runoff from creeping bentgrass turf: Relationship of pesticide properties to mass transport

“…Highly managed systems, such as golf course turf, often require multiple applications of pesticides at rates that exceed those typically found in agricultural or home environments [2,3]. Surface waters of urban watersheds have been found to contain pesticides associated with the turfgrass industry ( [4,5]; http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2005/1291), which have been measured in 85% of storm runoff events (dicamba, mecoprop, and dimethylamine salt of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid [2,4-D]) [6] detected in surface waters throughout the year (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and 2,4-D) [7], and have been reported at levels that exceeded criteria for the protection of aquatic life during spring and summer months (carbaryl and diazinon) [8].…”