Watershed management planning for the Metropolitan North Georgia water planning district

Abstract

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (District) watershed management plan was developed in 2003 largely through a process that was defined by Senate Bill 130 that established the District. This process and the resulting recommendations provided a road map for local governments to address a number of stormwater and watershed management issues in one comprehensive program. The watershed management plan included recommendations for implementation of local government stormwater management activities that will address many of the primary issues associated with stormwater runoff including both hydrologic and water quality impacts. Additional recommendations were included for watersheds with impaired streams (those requiring Total Maximum Daily Loads {TMDLs}) and source water withdrawals to address the specific watershed improvement or protection needs in these sensitive areas. Recommendations to address existing impacted watersheds were also included in the plan. One of the unique aspects of the District planning process was the integration of the watershed, wastewater, and water supply studies. Alternatives for meeting future water supply and wastewater needs were evaluated along with the watershed management alternatives to assure that the combination of activities would allow the region to maintain or improve water quality conditions. In addition, the overall process and resulting requirements for watershed management provided local governments with a mandate for implementation of a consistent program for nonpoint source controls that would have been difficult to facilitate without the regional planning process required by Senate Bill 130. This paper provides a summary of the planning process used to development the watershed management plan, the key recommendations in the plan, and the implementation strategy.