Water Quality and Quality of Centralhatchee Creek, Heard County, Georgia and Potential Drinking Water Resources for Georgia's Next Drought: Groundwater in the Brevard Fault Zone

In Heard County, Georgia, Centralhatchee Creek and Hillabahatchee Creek are the major sources of public drinking water. Many homes and farms have wells and septic systems. Both major creeks head in rural forest and farm land. They are cut by the Brevard Fault zone and flow into the Chattahoochee River. Both creeks contain potential dam sites and where they are cut by the Brevard Fault potential sites for well fields. The Brevard fault where it is crossed by Centralhatchee and Hillabahatchee Creeks forms classic rectangular drainage patterns. Rapids and bed rock exposures in these streams coupled with their rural nature make them exceptionally scenic streams.

During the record drought of 2007 Centralhatchee Creek, one of two drinking water streams in rural Heard County had record low flow conditions. Our research in 2007-2008 includes once a week measurement of flow and water quality parameters (temperature, pH, turbidity, specific conductivity, fecal coliform bacteria, E. coli, and nutrients) at three sample stations on Centralhatchee Creek. Results are compared to the data from these sites collected in 2001 by the West Georgia Watershed Assessment. No flow data was available from the 2001 study. Our data indicates an increase in turbidity and bacteria relative to the 2001 study. Major rain events late in 2007 flushed sediment and bacteria into the streams.