Ocmulgee River Watershed Project Fact Sheet

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1 Ocmulgee River Watershed Project Fact Sheet What Where The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is sponsoring the first in a series of public meetings for stakeholders in the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan. The Plan will provide detailed recommendations for river corridor protection and restoration through coordinated management efforts in the central one-third of the Ocmulgee River Basin (See attached map.) At the June 12 meeting, DCA will present an overview of the project, a summary of work accomplished so far, and future plans for this project. Georgia Music Hall of Fame 200 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Macon, GA When 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 12 Contacts Joe Krewer at (404) , jkrewer@dca.state.ga.us Michael Hintze at (404) , mhintze@dca.state.ga.us Plan Objectives make recommendations for riparian restoration and wetland enhancement, with the goal of improving and protecting water quality. facilitate the coordination of public, private, and non-prof it entities involved with river management engage local stakeholders in a unified conservation ethic with respect to the river and the watershed management plan. The objectives will be met through data collection (including records search and field assessments), agency/partner input, geographic information systems (GIS) data assimilation and analysis, public outreach, and report preparation and management recommendations. Area covered approximately 2,400 square miles more than 400,000 people The Ocmulgee River corridor and major sub-basins from Jackson Lake in Butts County south to below Perry. Roughly bisected north-south by Interstate 75 55% of this area is in the piedmont and 45% is in the coastal plain The project area includes urban (residential and industrial) and rural sections, as well as areas managed by local, state, and federal resource protection agencies, including the western third of the Oconee National Forest. All or part of the following counties: Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Crawford, Dooly, Henry, Houston, Jones, Lamar, Macon, Monroe, Newton, Peach, Pulaski, Spalding, Twiggs and Upson

2 May 24, 2001 Greetings, The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) invites you (your organization) to the first comprehensive stakeholder meeting of the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan project, June 12 th, 9:30am at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. Please come join us to hear an overview of the project, a summary of the work that has already been done, and future plans for the project. The enclosed project area map and fact sheet gives more details on the goals and geographic scope of the project. After the initial presentations of the project the floor will be open for discussion and the project team will be glad to hear your comments, questions and suggestions for improving the project. Enhancement of the Ocmulgee watershed through coordinated management efforts is the primary objective of the Ocmulgee Watershed Management Plan. Therefore, input from all those agencies and individuals impacting the watershed or concerned with its proper management is important to achieving the project s objective. The Plan that will result from this study will be a comprehensive step towards protecting the health of this river corridor. Please contact Michael Hintze at (404) , mhintze@dca.state.ga.us or Joe Krewer at (404) , jkrewer@dca.state.ga.us if you need additional information. Sincerely, MH/mh Enclosures Michael Hintze Program Coordinator

3 Contact: Joe Krewer Georgia Department of Community Affairs For Immediate Release Ocmulgee River Watershed Stakeholders Meeting (Atlanta, May 25, 2001) --- The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is sponsoring the first in a series of public meetings for stakeholders in the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan. The meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 12 at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. Please contact Michael Hintze at (404) , mhintze@dca.state.ga.us or Joe Krewer at (404) , jkrewer@dca.state.ga.us if you plan on attending this meeting, need additional information or would like to hear about future meetings. The Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan will provide detailed recommendations for river corridor protection and restoration through coordinated management efforts in the central one-third of the Ocmulgee River Basin (See attached map.) As these recommendations are prepared, it is important to have the input of all the agencies or individuals affecting the watershed or concerned with its proper management. The plan that comes from this study will be a comprehensive step toward protecting and improving the health of this river corridor. The project area encompasses about 2,400 square miles and more than 400,000 people. The area includes the Ocmulgee River corridor and major sub-basins from Jackson Lake in Butts County, south to below Perry. Roughly bisected north-south by Interstate 75, 55% of this area is in the piedmont and 45% is in the coastal plain. The project area includes urban (residential and industrial) and rural sections, as well as areas managed by local, state, and federal resource protection agencies, including the western third of the Oconee National Forest. At the June 12 meeting, DCA and project consultants will present an overview of the project, a summary of work accomplished so far, and future plans for the project. After the initial presentations the floor will be open for discussion and the project team will be glad to hear your comments, questions and suggestions for improving the study. Major objectives of the watershed management plan: make recommendations for riparian restoration and wetland enhancement, with the goal of improving and protecting water quality. -MORE-

4 facilitate the coordination of public, private, and non-profit entities involved with river management engage local stakeholders in a unified conservation ethic with respect to the river and the watershed management plan. The objectives will be met through data collection (including records search and field assessments), agency/partner input, geographic information systems (GIS) data assimilation and analysis, public outreach, and report preparation and management recommendations. ####

5 Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Educational Drop-In Meeting Come by the Jackson-Butts County Public Library on Wednesday August 1 st any time between 2pm and 7:30pm to: Learn about the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Study Look at maps of the Ocmulgee Watershed See a demonstration of GIS mapping tools Gather information from various organizations involved with watershed and environmental management Ask questions and give your input Organized by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (404)

6 Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Educational Drop-In Meeting Come by the Perry Public Library on Monday, December 10th any time between 2pm and 7:30pm to: Learn about the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Study Look at maps of the Ocmulgee Watershed See a demonstration of GIS mapping tools Gather information from various organizations involved with watershed and environmental management Ask questions and give your input Organized by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (404)

7 Contacts: Leigh Askew, Joe Krewer Georgia Department of Community Affairs For Immediate Release Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Educational Drop-In meeting (Atlanta, Dec. 3, 2001) --- The third in a series of educational public drop-in meetings regarding the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan has been scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10 at the Perry Public Library. The public is invited to stop by at any time between 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to learn about the plan and offer input. The Perry Public Library is located at 1201 Washington Street. The Dec. 10 meeting will give the general public the opportunity to learn more about the plan by viewing maps of the study area and a demonstration of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping tools. Project coordinators will be present to answer questions and receive input from interested citizens. Previous public meetings were held at locations in the upper portion of the study area, (Jackson-Butts County) and the middle portion (Macon), so this meeting is being held in the lower portion of the study area (Perry.) After public comment and review, the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan will provide detailed recommendations for river corridor protection and restoration through coordinated management efforts in the central one-third of the Ocmulgee River Basin (see map.) It is important to have the input of all the agencies or individuals affecting the watershed or concerned with its proper management in hand as these recommendations are prepared. The plan that comes from this study will be a comprehensive step toward protecting and improving the health of this river corridor. --MORE--

8 The project area encompasses about 2,400 square miles and more than 400,000 people. The area includes the Ocmulgee River corridor and major sub-basins from Jackson Lake in Butts County, south to below Perry. Roughly bisected east-west by Interstate 75, 55% of this area is in the piedmont and 45% is in the coastal plain. The project area includes urban (residential and industrial) and rural sections, as well as areas managed by local, state, and federal resource protection agencies, including the western third of the Oconee National Forest. Major objectives of the watershed management plan are to: make recommendations for river and stream corridor and wetlands protection and restoration, with the goal of improving and protecting water quality facilitate the coordination of public, private, and non-profit entities involved with river management engage local stakeholders in a unified conservation ethic with respect to the river and the watershed management plan ####

9 Ocmulgee River Watershed Project Fact Sheet What Where When Contacts The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is sponsoring the third in a series of public meetings for the Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan. Previous public meetings were held at locations in the upper portion of the study area (Jackson-Butts County) and the middle portion (Macon), so this meeting is being held in the lower portion of the study area (Perry). The Plan will provide detailed recommendations for river, stream and wetlands protection and restoration through coordinated management efforts in the central one-third of the Ocmulgee River Basin (See attached map.) Perry Public Library 1201 Washington Street Perry, Georgia Monday, December 10, 2001 from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ms. Leigh Askew at (404) , laskew@dca.state.ga.us Mr. Joe Krewer at (404) , jkrewer@dca.state.ga.us Plan Objectives make recommendations for riparian restoration and wetland enhancement, with the goal of improving and protecting water quality. facilitate the coordination of public, private, and non-profit entities involved with river management engage local stakeholders in a unified conservation ethic with respect to the river and the watershed management plan. The objectives will be met through data collection and analysis, agency/partner input, public outreach, and report preparation and management recommendations. Area covered approximately 2,400 square miles more than 400,000 people The Ocmulgee River corridor and major sub-basins from Jackson Lake in Butts County south to below Perry. Roughly bisected north-south by Interstate 75 The project area includes urban (residential and industrial) and rural sections, as well as areas managed by local, state, and federal resource protection agencies. All or part of the following counties: Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Crawford, Dooly, Henry, Houston, Jones, Lamar, Macon, Monroe, Newton, Peach, Pulaski, Spalding, Twiggs and Upson.

11 Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Project Stakeholders Information Form Name Title: Address: Telephone: Fax: (You will be advised of future meetings and other project activities) What is your primary interest in this project? Suggested sources of relevant information and/or data for this project: Do you have information and/or data you would like to contribute as a state match partner? If so, please describe: Comments: If you prefer to fax this form, fax to (404)

12 Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Project Summary of Stakeholder Comments from Public Meetings, June-December 2001 Are you interested in a specific portion of the geographic study area? - Upper Ocmulgee, north of Lloyd Shoals Dam - Bibb County - Ocmulgee River Corridor - Jackson Lake dam to Macon - Crawford, Butts (4), Jasper, Jones, Lamar (3) and Monroe (2) Counties - Sub-watersheds in Henry (3), Jasper, and Newton counties - Bibb and Houston Counties - Big Indian Creek Do you have any particular watershed management issues and concerns? - Poor or inadequate sampling along named and unnamed tributaries - Tussaham Creek reservoir and the impact on Jackson Lake (5) - Bear Creek reservoir (2) - Flood Plain development, levee concerns - Wetland protection (2) - Stormwater/nps concerns - Public access for recreational purposes - Community education (2) - Water conservation - Agricultural impacts - Increasing stream buffers (2) - Policing local governments protection practices and accountability for violators - Mandatory conservation and preservation education in public schools - Enforcing protection of watersheds when local governments can t or do not comply with BMPs - Coordinate regional planning for water supply - Coordination of recreational/environmental efforts w/ water/sewer use - Water quality monitoring (2) - Funds for landowners for implementation of conservation practices or BMPs - Peach County Land Application System (required treatment levels) Can you suggest additional sources of relevant information and/or data for this project? - MAUWI - CH2Mhill Stream buffer demonstration sites, once monitoring data is all collected (when?) - Henry County water and sewer authority has detailed wetland studies on Tussahaw, Wolf, and Macharn creeks

13 - EPD Ocmulgee Basin Study from late 80s. - Federal funding in EQIP program Other Comments - The state should adopt a unified set of criteria for watershed assessments for nps issues - All of the East Watershed flows into Jackson Lake - Want to develop greenway along Ocmulgee River corridor from Jackson Lake Dam to Macon/Warner Robins - Local government data may be based on false hopes, not facts-not for good of public - There is research on buffers-dr. Radcliff, UGA Agronomy, Dr. Velladis, Dr. Lowrenz, ARS, Tifton - Not much representation of landowners in Henry County, skewed towards urban representation - Accuracy of monitoring sites (303 report has streams on list with no concrete data supported these designations) * numbers indicate number of times a particular item appeared on comment forms

14 Meeting Notice - Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan Project What When Where Contact The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is sponsoring a meeting to present the Draft Ocmulgee River Watershed Management Plan document to project stakeholders, for review and comment. The Draft Plan describes the assembly of a water quality, wetlands assessment and Geographic Information System (GIS) database, and subsequent development of a watershed health spatial model. It also recommends management measures for water quality and wetland/riparian protection and enhancement efforts in the project study area. Friday, November 22, 2002 from 1:00 to 3:30 PM Middle Georgia Regional Development Center 175-C Emery Highway Macon, Georgia (See for detailed map and directions) Mr. Joe Krewer at (404) or jkrewer@dca.state.ga.us Additional Information: The Draft Plan has been developed for a specific project study area covering approximately the central one-third of the Ocmulgee River Basin from Jackson Lake in Butts County to below Warner Robins. It includes all or part of the following counties: Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Crawford, Dooly, Henry, Houston, Jones, Lamar, Macon, Monroe, Newton, Peach, Pulaski, Spalding, Twiggs and Upson. A map of the study area is attached. The Draft Plan will be posted by DCA on the Georgia Planning Web site at by November 15, 2002, under Water Resources, so stakeholders can view or download it prior to the meeting. At the meeting, DCA and the project consultant will present information on development of the Draft Plan, the results of the watershed health spatial model, and the management recommendations. Meeting discussion and comments will be used for refinement of the final Plan. The project database and modeling tools will be housed and maintained at the Atlanta offices of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for the purpose of providing planning information and technical assistance to other state agencies, the Regional Development Centers, local governments and other parties involved with wetlands protection, watershed management, coordinated planning, and related activities in the project study area. 11/12/02

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