BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY OF POTENTIAL RESERVOIR SITES

. Development of potential reservoir sites initiates a complex interplay of water quality analysis, politics, public opinion, government regulation, and supply and demand. As part of a regional effort to obtain more comprehensive data regarding water quality of surface streams in western Georgia, the West Georgia Watershed Assessment is measuring 21 water quality parameters at 70 sample stations in Carroll and Heard Counties. In Carroll County, surface water drinking supplies are presently withdrawn from the Little Tallapoosa River, Turkey Creek, and Snake Creek. A 650 acre reservoir is being constructed on Snake Creek in order to increase water supply from 2 to 12 million gallons per day (MGD). Because of rapid population growth and low summer water flow, there is a critical need for additional reservoirs in west Georgia. Whooping Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River in southern Carroll County, is one site under consideration for new reservoir construction. However, development of this site has been blocked, because Whooping Creek provides baseline biota data for Metro-Atlanta. Our research shows that Snake Creek and Whooping Creek have the highest turbidity (maximum of 900 NTU) and total suspended solids (maximum 1120 mg/L) of the 38 streams studied in the watershed assessment. Land usage upstream of proposed reservoir sites is the main cause of the high sediment content of the creeks. Runoff from residential construction, farmland, dirt roads, a large junkyard, and 4-wheeling trails along power lines all contribute to high sediment loads. The high sediment load increases cost of water treatment and may shorten the expected useful life of the proposed reservoirs.