LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM TRENDS IN WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF NORTH AND WEST GEORGIA: POPULATION GROWTH AND DROUGHTS OF 1999-2000 AND 2007

Drinking water supplies for Georgia are in short supply during a normal summer. Georgia has the 6th fastest growing state population. It has increased from 8.12 million in 2000 to 9.36 million in 2006. Metro Atlanta depends on the Chattahoochee River for 70% of its drinking water supply. West of Atlanta the counties in Georgia obtain drinking water from streams in the Tallapoosa watershed or tributaries of the Chattahoochee River. Georgia averages 50 inches of rain per year. During 1999, 2000, and 2001 rainfall shortages were 28, 24, and 6 inches, respectively. For the first six months of 2007 all of northwest Georgia has a rainfall deficient of 14-21 inches. In 2001 the Center for Water Resources was part of an extensive watershed assessment of Carroll and Heard Counties. In 2003-2006 and proposed for 2007-2011 the Center for Water Resources conducted long-term water quality monitoring in Carroll County.

Water quality and quantity measurements taken during a drought can provide critical base flow information. Ongoing research at the University of West Georgia includes weekly measurements of flow in ten streams, 3-5 measurements per week of flow, turbidity, and specific conductivity in several streams. Additional daily to weekly measurements of turbidity, fecal coliform bacteria, E. coli, TSS, and nutrients is being done on the Chattahoochee River. During major rain events sampling may occur on a 12-hour interval.

Demands on the Chattahoochee River by metro Atlanta and Alabama and Florida prohibit its usage as a drinking water source for west Georgia. Alternative drinking water resources include smaller streams near the Tallapoosa or Little Tallapoosa River where reservoirs can be built with water pumped into them from a river during periods of high flow. Groundwater resources in fractured rocks can provide important additions to the drinking water supply. The Brevard Fault, a deep and wide fracture zone cuts across Carroll and Heard Counties. Deep coring and drilling in fracture zones could advance our knowledge of geology and provide needed additional drinking water supplies. The Center for Water Resources proposes to drill four wells on University of West Georgia land and provide sustainable irrigation water for all athletic fields and flowers on the campus.