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OCR for page 1
Introduction
W ATER DEMANDS AND SUPPLIES IN THE ACF-ACT RIVER BASINS
Large areas of Alabama, the Florida panhandle region, and western Georgia lie in the
watershed of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa
(ACT) river systems. These river systems provide an array of water-related benefits and services
to the region’s residents, municipalities, farms, other economic sectors and ecosystems. Each of
these river basins has experienced extensive water resource development in the form of multiple
purpose reservoirs constructed by the Corps of Engineers and by non-federal entities. There
literally are hundreds of dams across these river systems. The largest of these are 10 Corps of
Engineers dams and 21 non-federal dams (Figure 1).
These river basins drain the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains then flow
through a piedmont region of low hills and across a coastal plain of low relief. The significance
of this physical context is that the upper reaches of the basins, where private hydropower dams
are common, are very different from the lower reaches, where species of concern are largely
located. These river systems became the sites of heightened disputes over shared water
resources during the 1980s. At that time, the region was experiencing drought conditions and
steady population growth with increasing water demands. The population of Metro Atlanta, for
instance, grew from roughly less than one-half million in 1950 to over five million in 2007. The
city of Atlanta and significant portions of the surrounding metropolitan area derive much of their
drinking water supply from direct withdrawals and releases from Lake Lanier, which is
impounded by Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in north-central Georgia. Tensions
among increasing urban water demands and other water use sectors have continued. Those
tensions tend to be magnified during conditions of drought and water shortages, such as during
2006-08, and reduced during periods of greater rainfall, such as during the spring of 2009.
Driven by increasing demands and erratic or decreased water supplies, the basin states of
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, and the Corps of Engineers have been involved in considerable
litigation since the 1980s. A prominent example of an effort to find reconciliation among these
parties began with a series of negotiations that led the three states to enter a congressionally
authorized compact in 1997, in which they agreed to work toward a water allocation agreement
1
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2 Summary of a Workshop on Water Issues in the ACT-ACT River Basins
FIGURE 1. Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) and Alabama-Coosa-T allapoosa (ACT) river
systems.
SOURCE: USGS (2004). ga.water.usgs.gov/publications/abstracts/acfactlist.html.
for the ACF river systems. In 2003 these negotiations ended without the states agreeing to an
allocation scheme. The three states and the Corps continue to be involved in litigation over
sharing the waters within the ACF basin, with some focus on the Corps’ operation of its four
Chattahoochee River dams.
CORPS OF ENGINEERS W ATER CONTROL MANUALS
W ater management operations for the federal dams and reservoirs in these river systems
are described in Corps of Engineers water control manuals specific to each reservoir and
included within master water control manuals for the ACF and ACT river basins. These manuals
outline the regulation schedules for each project and specifications for storage and releases from
each reservoir. They also outline policies and data protocols for flood control operations and
drought contingency operations. In writing these manuals, the Corps of Engineers considers
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Introduction 3
authorized project purposes, power contract commitments, hydrologic and climatic factors,
downstream lake and basin-wide conditions, potential threats of flood and drought, and lake
levels. In addition to balancing these many, sometimes competing, variables, the Corps of
Engineers also must consider changes in water demand patterns, economic factors, and social
preferences.
Drought conditions in 2006 resulted in the Corps initiating formal consultation with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service in order to determine flow regimes that are beneficial to federally
endangered species in the lower reaches of the Apalachicola River. As part of the consultation,
the Corps proposed and implemented a set of operation rules—the Interim Operation Plan
(IOP)—for the federal reservoirs in the ACF basin. A drawdown of Lake Lanier was required to
support these flows, and many Georgia water users and officials questioned the justification for
the minimum flow requirements. The year 2007 saw drought conditions across the basin
continue, the IOP was modified to include Emergency Drought Operations (EDO) as the
Apalachicola River experienced record low flows and further threats to endangered aquatic
species. Systems operations are complicated further by minimum flow requirements in other
areas, such as reaches downstream from Buford Dam and similar constraints downstream from
Morgan Falls Dam in Atlanta.
In 2007, the Secretary of the Army directed an update of the ACT master water control
2
manual, and in 2008 the Secretary directed an update of the ACF master water control manual.
The existing ACT and ACF water control manuals were completed in 1951 and 1958,
respectively. These basins have seen numerous physical changes since then, not the least of
which is the addition of several dams and reservoirs. The legal context for national water
resources decisions has also changed greatly with passage of the National Environmental Policy
Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The
scientific setting of water resources decisions also has changed. For instance, there is a better
understanding and wider appreciation of the impacts of dam and reservoir operations on
downstream ecology, and water managers today may try to implement concepts such as the
natural flood pulse to help restore ecosystems or protect species of special concern. The social
setting, too, has changed; the role of stakeholders, for instance, is today far more prominent in
decision making than in the 1950s when the current manuals were written.
NATIONAL ACADEMIES WORKSHOP
In 2008, the Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division contacted the National Academies’
Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) to discuss the possible involvement of the
Academies’ in providing independent, expert advice to the Corps and others regarding river
system operations, aquatic ecology, and related issues. Brigadier General Joseph Schroedel,
2
A draft updated ACF Master Water Control Manual that incorporated the overall system management was proposed in 1989 as part of the Lake
Lanier post-authorization change report. This master manual described current system operations at that time but was not finalized due to
litigation filed by the State of Alabama objecting to current and proposed changes to operations in the basin. The Corps has been operating the
ACF projects under the draft 1989 Master Water Control Manual on an interim basis pending update of the Master Manual and individual project
Water Control Manuals.
3
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4 Summary of a Workshop on Water Issues in the ACT-ACT River Basins
then-Corps Division Commander, spoke with WSTB members and staff at their October 2008
board meeting. It was agreed that the Corps would sponsor a one-day workshop in which key
ACF-ACT water management issues were discussed, and in which a handful of topics that might
serve as the basis for future studies would be identified (the statement of task for this activity is
included as Appendix A).
The workshop was convened at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on
3
April 3, 2009. The workshop included presentations from National Research Council (NRC)
staff; the Corps of Engineers; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the states of Alabama, Florida,
and Georgia; and several invited experts. An open comment session and open discussion session
also were held. The event was moderated and overseen by a small steering committee of Water
Science and Technology Board members that worked with WSTB staff (a meeting agenda is
included as Appendix B; workshop participants are listed in Appendix C).
Meeting participants represented many different organizations, sectors, and perspectives, and
the sessions held through the day featured many lively exchanges and an abundance of
thoughtful questions and comments. Historical and ongoing conflicts and lawsuits over ACF-
ACT system operations are undeniable and a prominent part of any discussions of these issues.
The workshop invitees, however, participated in the meeting with positive spirits, candor, and
enthusiasm. The discussions were conducted at a professional level and the invitees identified
and explained numerous important issues regarding scientific concepts and data, legal and
institutional issues, and modes of decision making, all of which affect ACF-ACT water
management.
The following sections summarize the main topics discussed by participants at the workshop,
and possible topics for future studies that were raised at the meeting by members of the steering
committee and other participants. This report does not identify any possible findings or
recommendations that may have emerged during the workshop nor does it offer its own findings
and recommendations.
At this time, the National Academies has not been requested to conduct any further studies in
the ACF-ACT region, although some pending federal legislation calls for the National
Academies to carry out a study to provide advice on water management in the basin (see
Appendix D).
3
The National Research Council (NRC) is the working arm of the National Academies. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an
honorific body and is part of the National Academies. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) also are
honorific bodies within the National Academies complex. For more information see:
www.nationalacademies.org/ .
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