Protection of Water Resources in the Big Creek Watershed

Abstract

The 98 square miles of the Big Creek Watershed encompasses five jurisdictions: Alpharetta, Cumming, Forsyth County, Fulton County and Roswell. Big Creek itself is a major tributary of the Chattahoochee River, source of drinking water for most of metropolitan Atlanta. Big Creek serves as a water supply for a portion of Roswell and is used for waste assimilation in Cumming, near the headwaters of the stream. This watershed contains some of the most dynamic corridors of development and growth in Georgia. Attendant water resource problems have dramatically increased and are impacting the hydrology of the Big Creek flows, altering the native plant and animal communities, affecting private property and increasing the risk of waterborne disease. This paper addresses a set of programs and actions that have been implemented in Alpharetta to influence a mutual will to protect the integrity of valuable water resources in the Big Creek Watershed.