Current Programs and Projects
Community Watershed Organizations
Several community watershed groups have formed in the City whose mission is to preserve and protect the integrity of the City’s streams. Currently, the City works with these groups on an informal basis.
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has provided the City with start-up grants for the purpose of initiating a citizen' education and awareness program for the prevention of non-point source pollution of our streams and creeks. Citizens learn to identify and report water pollution problems, and collect data on the stream they are monitoring. The City is providing training, educational materials and assistance in initiating stream-monitoring programs throughout the City.
Chattahoochee River Project
The Chattahoochee River Project is an effort to establish a river greenway park along the entire Chattahoochee River Corridor in the City of Atlanta. The purpose of the project is to reclaim the Chattahoochee River corridor and conserve it as a sustainable resource.
Revised Tree Ordinance
The City has recently adopted revisions to its Tree Ordinance. Protection of the urban forest, street trees and landscape buffers to reduce stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces are key elements of the new tree ordinance.
The Atlanta Environmental Priorities Project
The City has initiated, with a start-up grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an inventory, analysis and ranking of its environmental issues. The inventory will include terrestrial and riparian systems, water resources, surface water quality, air quality and land quality.
Atlanta Parks, Open Space, And Greenways Plan
The Atlanta Parks, Open Space, and Greenways Plan was adopted in December 1993. This plan proposes establishing a citywide system of interconnected greenways along streams, parks, MARTA rights-of-way, abandoned railroad corridors, the Chattahoochee River and other linear corridors. The most current Greenway Trail Corridor map is contained in the Parks and Recreation section of the CDP. Greenways will be used for recreation, education, and natural resource protection. The plan also recommends a number of policies and projects for addressing environmental problems in parks citywide.
Greenway Acquistion Project
Under a Supplemental Environmental Program established by a federal consent decree, The City of Atlanta will invest $25 million in the purchase of property along selected portions of streams in Metro Atlanta that flow into the Chattahoochee and South Rivers. The program is intended to improve water quality in Metro Atlanta streams and the Chattahoochee and South Rivers. The land will be converted to and/or preserved as “greenways”, undeveloped and undisturbed corridors along stream banks that serve as natural filters to trap sediment and other pollutants carried by stormwater before they reach the streams. The natural vegetation of greenways provides wildlife habitats and offer opportunities for passive recreation.
Urban Heat Island Reduction
Since 1973, the metropolitan Atlanta area has been experiencing unprecedented urbanization growth and loss of greenspace at an alarming rate. Impervious cover has become a function of contemporary land uses, and the changes in land use/cover have dramatically contributed to a degradation of air and water quality as well as overburdening of our stormwater systems. As a result of new land use practices, Atlanta has also developed over-stressed sewer systems with urgent erosion, sedimentation, and stormwater management problems. In 1999, it was reported that metro Atlanta is now the fastest growing metro region in the country, with smallest river in the country, the Chattahoochee River, serving as the primary water source for a major metropolitan area. This phenomenon of higher urban temperatures, the degradation of air and water quality, overflows to our sewer systems, and loss of greenspace can be mitigated by designing greenroofs on our cities’ roofs, and integrating greenroof architecture into the fabric of our city infrastructure systems. The City of Atlanta will be developing a pilot greenroof project at City Hall downtown for demonstration purposes. In addition, the City will be seeking other environmentally sensitive roofs on city owned facilities for initiatives such as solar power, reflective coatings, and greenroofs.
Water Reuse Program
According to EPA, water recycling has proven to be effective and successful in creating a new and reliable water supply, while not compromising public health. Non-potable (not for drinking purposes) reuse is a widely accepted practice. However, in many parts of the United States, the uses of recycled water are expanding in order to accommodate the needs of the environment and growing water supply demands. Advances in wastewater treatment technology and health studies of indirect potable reuse have led many to predict that planned indirect potable reuse will soon become more common. The City of Atlanta’s Water Recycling project will supply treated wastewater effluent from the South River Water Reclamation Center of a city owned golf course for the purpose of irrigation. In the future, the City will be identifying other potential users of treated effluent.