Safeguarding Georgia’s Water Future

Securing Abundant Water

Agriculture is an important part of Georgia’s economy and heritage. Our agriculture industry also is one of the state’s largest water consumers, but Georgia is a leader in developing and deploying water-saving technology for irrigation systems that other states, regions and nations have adopted.

TNC and partners have worked with farmers in the Lower Flint River Basin to empower them with resources and tools they need to meet the increasing demands of a growing population, while safeguarding their livelihoods and protecting our valuable water resources. TNC’s active engagement in this work wrapped up several years ago, but key allies continue to innovate and engage with farmers.

Removing Barriers: Helping Fish Get Where They Need to Go

Freshwater fish need to travel rivers and streams freely to reach environments where they eat and reproduce. Dams and culverts at road-stream crossings can cause major roadblocks to fish passage. The blocks fragment habitat and degrade the streams, so species suffer. Additionally, poorly designed and aging infrastructure poses many hazards to the public when they fail. Addressing these issues before a dam or culvert fails can be a win for people AND nature.

TNC helps lead the Georgia Aquatic Connectivity Team, a self-selecting group of people from across the state representing all the State and Federal agencies involved in regulating stream quality and dam safety, hydropower interests, paddling groups, Universities, environmental engineers, other conservation groups, and individuals interested in removing barriers to aquatic connectivity. The group identifies high priority projects to open and improve habitat for aquatic species such as fish, mussels and amphibians while ensuring public safety for people recreating, traveling or living in proximity to dams and stream crossings. The GA-ACT has published two guidebooks to help people in Georgia address barriers:

• Removal or Modification of Obsolete Dams in Georgia: A Handbook for Project Managers and Dam Owners
• Stream Crossings in Georgia: A Handbook for Connectivity and Resilience

In 2017, TNC proposed a project to remove three high priority dams on land we own near Fort Benning in the Upatoi Creek watershed, a major tributary to the Chattahoochee River. Some of the changes included:

1. All three failing dams were to be partially removed and the new stream banks stabilized.
2. At Little Pine Knot dam, a new stream channel was constructed, bypassing the original channel route to ensure a more stable slope connecting the up- and down-stream segments.
3. Stabilizing structures were constructed in the new stream channels following Natural Channel Design principles.
4. The riparian areas were revegetated with native grasses and shrub stakes.
5. An undersized culvert downstream of Little Pine Knot dam was replaced with a low-water crossing.

Columbus State University faculty and students began monitoring the construction sites and several reference sites in 2019 and will continue to monitor the impacts of the dam removal and stream restoration through summer 2021, and this work will form the basis of at least one Masters’ Thesis. This work has already documented movement of fish and crayfish in the newly restored channels.

In the early 2000s, the removal of a multi-box culvert at Racoon Creek Road became a priority goal. In 2019, the culvert was removed and replaced with a free-span bridge. KSU graduate student Will Commins has monitored fish populations throughout the project to document the movement of fish above and below the culvert prior to its removal and will continue to monitor fish movement under the bridge to quantify the project’s impact on fish passage.

“Our ongoing habitat restoration work in the Raccoon Creek Watershed is the result of applying science and creative collaborations to meet conservation goals. Each partner played a key role in making this project a reality,” Katie Owens, Coosa River Basin Program Director.

Restoring Wetlands to Improve Water Quality

Home to more than 75 species of freshwater fish—including federally endangered or threatened species—the Conasauga River is among the most biodiverse rivers in the United States. An unparalleled number of mussels, snails, salamanders and crayfish also inhabit the Conasauga’s waters.

Georgia’s watersheds have experienced major transformation over the last century: landuse conversion, dam construction, expanding of cities, channelization of rivers and streams. But the extraordinary biodiversity of our watersheds endures.

Our freshwater wetlands work focuses on sound science and effective collaboration with state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and landowners. TNC is working with north Georgia landowners to implement a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant to protect and restore stream buffers and wetland habitat, thus reducing nutrient and toxin loading in this high-risk watershed.