Is The Chattahoochee River Polluted

The complete guide to the Chattahoochee River

How make clean is the Chattahoochee River water?

Chattahoochee Clean Water — You lot can stick your feet in it, simply don't potable it.

Is the Chattahoochee dingy?
In the 1960s and 1970s dissolved oxygen levels in the Chattahoochee River threatened fish. E. Coli levels discouraged government agencies from edifice admission points in some areas, says Jason Ulseth of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a nonprofit that patrols and protects the river. But today, he says, " the river is now cleaner than it has been in decades ." Higher levels of bacteria similar Due east. coli and pollutants are more probable after heavy rains and in the summer when temperatures rise. And though sewage spills into the river have decreased in the concluding decade or and so, they withal occur . Merely there is more to do. Most parts of the Chattahoochee are monitored past the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and United States Geological Survey.

How did it become make clean?
In 1973 the state passed the Metropolitan River Protection Act, setting strict rules on new development within 2,000 feet of the river. (Existing structures, such equally the ones occupied by restaurants Canoe and Ray'south on the River, were grandfathered in.) After the Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit in 1995 against Atlanta over sewage spills, a federal judge ordered a $three billion overhaul of the city's in one case-decrepit sewer organization—and a $20,000 fine per spill. Environmental officials take noticed a sizable subtract in city sewage spills: from ane,452 in 2001 to 627 in 2014. More than sensation most pollution has also helped, says Jerry Hightower, a park ranger who'south spent more than 35 years at the recreation area.

Can we swim in it?
Aye. And fish caught in the park are safe to eat, officials say; all the same, you should limit your consumption of some species from certain areas. If the water is cloudy, there'southward probably loftier bacteria, Hightower says. Don't eat it.

How is it protected?
The Riverkeeper, park rangers, local governments, and state and federal environmental officials monitor the waterway. 90 volunteers aid Riverkeeper staff collect water samples at roughly 150 sites to pinpoint spill locations and high bacteria, filling gaps the USGS can't cover. Environmental advocates besides play defence force at the Georgia Capitol to cake efforts by some state lawmakers to ease laws about developing near streams.

So the Chattahoochee is in the clear?
Not exactly. Sewage and pollutants, plus trash and bacteria from the tributaries feeding into the Chattahoochee, still occasionally wash into the river. The Riverkeeper has plant "hundreds" of companies—and is currently suing ane—in the Chattahoochee watershed that allegedly violated clean water laws. Heavy deluges associated with climatic change tin overwhelm the river with stormwater and contaminants. Droughts result in less water for marine life and slower flows, helping bacteria to grow, and so conservation is key. Some other friend of leaner, says Hightower: lawn chemicals and dog poop left in the park and well-nigh creeks. Where practise you call back that ends up?