Raising community awareness and participation in restoring Chattahoochee River riparian buffers

1. Raising community awareness and participation in restoring Chattahoochee River riparian buffers Liz George

2. Riverside Park http://www.roswellgov.com/index.aspx?NID=868 • Located on the Chattahoochee River • Managed by Roswell Parks and Recreation • Used for walking/running trails, picnic tables and shelters, grass fields, playgrounds • Chattahoochee River is also Metro Atlanta’s source for drinking water • Most park users, however, do not fully understand the fact that the Chattahoochee River is classified as an impaired waterway • Fecal coliform levels, • Temperature • Fish Consumption due to BCPs

3. Action http://archwaycustomhomes.com/communities/taimen-on-the-river/community-lifestyle/ • Restoring riparian buffers and prevent further damage • Educating and involving the community: • Informational poster to be hung up at Riverside Park • Outlines the basics of water quality issues with the Chattahoochee River • Explains how taking proper care of riparian buffers can make a difference in water quality • Invites the community to attend a day of riparian buffer restoration at Riverside Park

4. Love the Chattahoochee? Help Protect It! What: Community Riparian Buffer Recovery Day! When: 9:00 am, Saturday May 28, 2012 Where: Right here at Riverside Park How: Come join members of the Metro Atlanta community in an effort to restore the Chattahoochee River’s Riparian Buffers Why: Keep reading to learn more about the health of the Chattahoochee River! Impairment: The Chattahoochee is classified as impaired terms of temperature, fecal coliform (pathogen) levels, and fish consumption due to PCBs (polychloninated biphenyl)7 • How to Fix it • In addition to preventing point source pollution, non-point source pollution that enters the waterways can be reduced through restoration of stream conditions to a more natural state. This will provide the best ecosystem conditions as well as a • In urban watersheds, riparian buffers are often degraded or removed as a result of land development, resulting in increased erosion and runoff into waterways. Restoring these buffers can make significant improvements in water quality, hydrologic patterns, and aquatic habitats.2,5 • Riparian Buffers • Riparian buffers are “the area of land immediately adjacent to the banks of State waters in its natural state of vegetation, which facilitates the protection of water quality and aquatic habitat” which are usually at least 15 feet wide.2 • In undisturbed Georgia forests, the soil is able to absorb rainwater, filtering out nutrients and contaminants it as it flows into the groundwater1. Intact riparian buffers function in a similar way to maintain stream health- the larger and more developed the buffer, the better a job it does.4 • Replanting riparian buffers and protecting what vegetation remains in urban river systems goes a long way in maintaining water quality and ecosystem health.5 • Use of the ‘Hooch • Residents of Metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia use water from the Chattahoochee for drinking, recreation, and fishing. • The Chattahoochee River is the primary drinking water source for the residents of Georgia, one of the fastest growing states in the nation.2,3 • The growing population requires a growing amount of water, particularly from the Chattahoochee.1 • Urban and suburban development also threatens the quality of the Chattahoochee’s water- directly and indirectly increasing temperature, turbidity, nutrient content, bacterial load, etc.4 • It’s important to balance both the ecosystem and human water quality and quantity needs.3 • What We Can Do • Even with laws and regulations protecting our waterways, community awareness and involvement are necessary to keep the Chattahoochee at its best for both humans and the natural environment.1 • Because everything we put on the land- litter, grease, gasoline, etc.- ends up in the streams, individual and community action can make a big difference.6 • At the Community Riparian Buffer Recovery Day: • Clean up! Pick up litter in Riverside Park • Plant native grasses and vegetation in eroded sections of the park, • particularly off-trail cut throughs to the river • Laying gravel on paths to prevent sediment runoff during storms • LEARN MORE ABOUT RIPARIAN BUFFER ACTIVITY AND HEALTH • Every Day: • Clean up! Riverside Park, your neighborhood, etc. • Keep learning about Chattahoochee water quality issues • Inform your friends and neighbors about issues • Be careful not to damage riparian buffers • Stay on trails in the park Fun on the ‘Hooch Let’s Keep it That Way! Source: http://shootthehooch.com • Key Georgia Issues to Address According to the U.S. EPA and GA DNR1 • the control of toxic substances • the reduction of nonpoint source pollution • the need to increase public involvement in water quality improvement projects • a sustainable supply of potable water For More Information: 1 Georgia DNR and U.S. EPA. (2004). Getting to know your watershed: Georgia: Adopt-A-Stream. Retrieved from <http://science.kennesaw.edu/~jdirnber/lha/programs/Watershed/Watershed.pdf>. 2 Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (2011) Stream Buffer Mitigation Guidance. Retrieved from <http://www.gaepd.org/Files_PDF/techguide/wpb/GAEPD_Stream_Buffer_Mitigation_Guidance_Revised_April_2011.pdf>. 3 Georgia Water Coalition. (2009) Water Quality. Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Retrieved from <http://www.ucriverkeeper.org/water-quality.php>. 4Miltner, R. J., White, D., Yoder, C. (2004). The biotic integrity of streams in urban and suburbanizing landscapes. Landscape and urban planning, vol. 69, p. 87-100. 5Newham, M. J., Fellows, C. S., and Sheldon, F. (2011) Functions of riparian forest in urban catchments: A case study from sub-tropical Brisbane, Australis. Urban Ecosystems vol. 14, p. 165-80. 6 Schiff, R., Benoit, G. (2007). Effects of impervious cover at multiple spatial scales on coastal watershed streams. Journal of American Water Resources Association, vol. 43, 712-730. 7 U.S. EPA. (2012) Georgia, Upper Chattahoochee Watershed: Watershed Quality Assessment Report. Retrieved from <http://iaspub.epa.gov/tmdl_waters10/attains_watershed.control?p_huc=03130001>. Source: http://www.ajc.com/multimedia/dynamic/00954/heat_0602_ba02_954215l.jpg Riverside Park on the Chattahoochee Riverside Park Source: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_map/georgia.gif