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SUSTAINABILITY
Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
Thirty years
ago, country singer
Alan Jackson
released his hit
single about
muddy water, a
lot of living, and
a little loving on
the Chattahoochee
River near his
hometown of Newnan—located on
the southern (downstream) fringes of
metro Atlanta. Way down yonder on his
boyhood river, Jackson recalls learning
how to swim and who he was on days
“hotter than a hoochie coochie.”
The music video that accompanied this
timeless summer classic—with Jackson
water-skiing in torn jeans and a cowboy
hat—won the Country Music Award
for video of the year in 1993. If you’ve
never seen it, the clip is worth a watch.
The song’s upbeat tempo and images of
youthful enthusiasm will put a smile on
your face. As “Chattahoochee” co-writer
Jim McBride said at the time: “People
just associate with that song. With most
people, there’s a river that they have
memories about.”
The season for making new summer
memories is now upon us. Where will you
head? To the beach, your favorite river, or
a lakeside cabin? Perhaps you’ll play with
your children or grandchildren beside a
neighborhood creek. Wherever you go to
cool off on the hot days that are sure to
come, I wish you clean, safe, and trash-free
waters. Today, your favorite swimming and
fishing holes are likely to be cleaner than
they were when Jackson’s most successful
song was released three decades ago.
Holding Polluters Accountable
Over the past 30 years—as journalists,
photographers, and filmmakers produced
stories about environmental threats—
the general public took a closer look at
the waterways in their hometowns: the
streams in their backyards and the rivers
and lakes that serve as playgrounds and
drinking water supplies. Concerned
about more harm to their communities
and armed with new scientific data, the
public demanded that clean water laws
be enforced; they insisted that polluters
be held accountable to protect people,
wildlife, and property.
Environmental advocates became more
numerous and effective in their strategies
to achieve clean, swimmable waters,
using legal actions when needed. With
greater resources—thanks to volunteers
and generous donors—substantial
improvements have been made. Our rivers,
lakes, streams, and beaches are cleaner and
safer, although the specter of emerging
contaminants, such as microplastics and
“forever chemicals,” remains, as does the
ubiquitous problem of trash.
Around the world, the “waterkeeper”
movement (waterkeeper.org) began to
proliferate in the 1990s. There are now
seventy-five waterkeeper groups in the
Southeast alone, including my former
organization, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
(CRK, chattahoochee.org), which will
celebrate its own thirtieth anniversary
next year. Alan Jackson’s song was a
prelude, then the soundtrack, for CRK’s
early years, when, joined by downstream
communities and riverfront landowners,
the organization successfully sued the city
of Atlanta to stop its chronic sewage spills
After spending more than $2 billion to
upgrade its crumbling sewer system, the
city no longer regularly dumps untreated
sewage into the river and its tributaries.
With the help of tens of thousands of
volunteers, more than 2.2 million pounds
of trash have been pulled from the
Chattahoochee and its watershed by CRK
over the decades. Other Georgia waterways
have experienced similar successes
fostered by collaboration, monitoring,
land protection, policy changes, and legal
actions.
The Problem with Rain
Polluted storm runoff remains a big
problem. Anything dumped or dropped
on the ground or in a gutter can end up
in the nearest body of water. Stormwater
pollution results from materials, chemicals,
and trash washed into the storm drains
from streets, yards, rooftops, parking
lots, construction sites, and industrial
operations, e.g., chemical manufacturing,
poultry processing, landfills, mining, and
hazardous waste treatment.
When large, even small construction
sites are graded without installing erosion
control measures, muddy water flows off
site and downslope to the nearest stream
every time it rains. The results include
harm to aquatic plants and animals,
clogged stream channels, toxic green-blue
algae fed by excess nutrients, and higher
bills for more expensive drinking water
treatment.
This type of pollution is significant
because—unlike the water that goes down
a sink or toilet in your home—stormwater
is untreated. It flows directly to a lake,
river, or the ocean, unless it is slowed
by trees, plants, and rain gardens that
allow the water to soak into the ground.
Dense urban areas, like Atlanta’s core with
its sixteen-lane Downtown Connector
(1-75/85), produce massive floods of
stormwater.
Making matters worse, the increasing
air temperatures of climate change bring
more intense storms to the Southeast:
more polluted runoff, more flooding, and
more days that are hotter than a “hoochie
coochie.”
Although the government, at all levels,
is required to manage this pollution,
agencies rarely have sufficient resources
or political will to get the job done;
environmental groups and others have had
to step up and take some responsibility.
Over the years, CRK has invested heavily
and successfully in training, monitoring,
policy-making, and enforcement programs
to stop muddy and toxic stormwater from
leaving construction sites and industrial
sites, respectively.
Despite ongoing challenges, the
news about today’s Chattahoochee is
good. As the river slowly meanders past
Alan Jackson’s hometown, the water is
dramatically cleaner; one day, the time
may even be right to drop “muddy” from
the lyrics of his biggest hit.
Ways You Can Stop
Stormwater Pollution
■ Maintain your car or truck.
Never dump anything into a storm
drain. Recycle used oil, antifreeze,
and other fluids. Wash your car at
a commercial facility or on a lawn,
not on a paved surface.
■ Reduce your use of fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides. Mulch
lawn clippings. Plant trees. Replace
some of your lawn with native,
drought-resistant plants.
■ Direct downspouts to vegetated
areas, not a storm drain in the street.
■ Have septic systems regularly
inspected and pumped out when
needed.
■ Scoop pet poop and properly
dispose of it.
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ABOVETHE
WATER LINE
Sally Bethea
121 JUNE 2023
RoughDraftAtlanta.com
