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the etowah initiative:
fall 2001
Demonstration Sites
of Best Management Practices: A Manual for the Upper Etowah River Alliance,
Fall 2001, Michael Bien, Jehan El-Jourbagy, Liv LiaBraaten, Shana Udvardy.
(PDF file). Slide Show: Demonstration Sites of Best Management Practices, Fall 2001, Michael Bien, Jehan El-Jourbagy, Liv LiaBraaten, Shana Udvardy. (10 MB PDF file) Project Abstract The Upper Etowah River Alliance (UERA) secured funding under Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act to develop Best Management Practice (BMP) demonstration sites to show successful control of non-point source pollution in the river from urban runoff, highway runoff, agriculture, forestry and recreation. The grant takes a holistic approach toward the mitigation of non-point source pollution by including community education as well as site monitoring to ensure the continued success of the projects. Participating in the University of Georgia's Etowah Initiative, a team of four graduate students in the UGA Institute of Ecology and School of Law has worked under this grant on the development of two demonstration sites along the Etowah River. The first site, at Chattahoochee National Forest, involves campsite rehabilitation, stream bank revegetation, and access path restoration at a United States Forest Service (USFS) camping area. Over the course of years, visitors to the camping area have worn away the stream bank vegetation, which has resulted in the bank being vulnerable to erosion. The eroded soil washes into the river and poses a threat to the delicate ecological systems which exist there. By redirecting the hiking paths and setting in semi-permanent camping pads, the team and the USFS invite campers to enjoy the area without endangering the stream, plants, and wildlife that thrive on the stream bank. The second site, Boling Park, involves the construction of a wetland around a soccer field which sits adjacent to an Etowah tributary in Canton, Georgia. A large paved parking lot surrounds this field. During rain events, stormwater flows across the surface of the paved lot, transporting pollutants directly into the stream. This problem is exacerbated by a drain pipe at the edge of the parking lot which channels any water directly to the stream. The function of the constructed wetland is to capture this wash water in a long and shallow swale which will slow its course to the stream and allow it to be cleansed naturally by percolating through the earth before it reaches the stream. This process helps to prevent toxins and pollutants from harming the ecological system of the river.
Responding to the effort for community education, interpretive signs have been designed for both sites. The signs aim to educate visitors and stimulate interest in the changes taking place. The team strove to work with local community resources to foster a sense of ownership and investment in the projects and gather support from many areas including the local groups of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Trout Unlimited members. |
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