Environmental Stewardship Regional Practices

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With Potato Creek in Georgia being listed as an impaired body of water by the EPA, its local communities needed to develop Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plans, or EPA-approved budgets for the amount of pollutants detected in the water each day. Because the creek's condition affected four cities and two counties, the McIntosh Trail Regional Development Center took a major role in the process.

With an EPA grant and matching funds from the local jurisdictions, McIntosh Trail RDC coordinated regional cooperation and expertise from the University of Georgia in an innovative program to monitor and track the bacterial sources. Executive Director Lanier Boatwright says, "The foremost microbiologist in the region figured out how to take samples of water and to determine if the fecal coliform bacteria are from humans or from certain animals. Each type of animal has a different type of bacteria associated with it."

By testing samples throughout Potato Creek and its tributaries for two years during a range of weather patterns, the research team was able to determine three problem areas. "Most of the problems can be fixed with little cost to the local governments," Boatwright explains. "In one case, the problem came from cattle grazing in and around the creek. The county can create an ordinance to require a setback so that cattle, and their manure, stay out of the creek." In another section of Potato Creek, human coliform bacteria were detected in the water and were traced to a cracked sewer line.

According to Boatwright, another case involved large amounts of pet waste that contaminated the water. This might be resolved by cities enacting an ordinance restricting the number of pets residents could own. Local groups have also started an information campaign to raise the public's consciousness about pet waste and water quality.

The RDC will continue monitoring the water to make sure the McIntosh Trail region stays below the safe level for coliform bacteria. The TMDL project has been a good example of a regional approach. Eventually the water from the region flows into a major river in the state, so the water quality affects everyone downstream and serves as the county water supply. Boatwright points out, "Everybody realizes that if they didn't deal with it now, their water supply would have to come from another source, which would be more costly and a far greater problem."

McIntosh Trail Regional Development Center P.O. Box 818 Griffin, GA 30204 Tel: 770.227.6300 Fax: 770.227.6488 http://www.mtrdc.org/