The Coosa River and its tributaries are threatened by massive water diversions to Metro Atlanta. Visit 
Some 60 acres of Oostanaula River floodplain and wetlands that could become Rome's Central Park are slated for conversion into a regional shopping center.Welcome to CRBI
WATERFEST XII Set For May 4-5
CRBI's 12th Annual paddlesports and environmental education extravaganza splashes down May 4-5 at Ridge Ferry Park and the River E.C.O. Center in Rome, Georgia. The event includes a 13-mile race on the Oostanaula River, Canoe & Kayak Tug-O-Wars and our Environmental Fair, featuring reptile and raptor shows, exhibits, children's activities, our Environmental Quiz Bowl for area elementary schools and great food.
More than $2,000 in prizes will be up for grabs in our Canoe-a-thon fundraising competition, including new canoes, kayaks and vacation getaways! Set up your fundraising page and get started NOW!
Learn more about WATERFEST and register to compete.
2011 Annual Report
CRBI's 2011 Annual Report is now available online. Or view CRBI's video thank you to members and supporters that highlights some of CRBI's accomplishments in 2011:
Governor's Water Program Ignores Water Efficiency
In 2011, Governor Nathan Deal pledged $300 million to increase Georgia ’s water supplies and charged a task force with directing those funds to “critical, cost-effective water supply projects.” Unfortunately, on Dec. 14 the Task Force chose to exclude water conservation and efficiency projects from this funding program. Instead, the Task Force will use the money to fund the promotion of speculative reservoir projects and other unproven and high-cost water supply options. The Governor signed off on the Task Force recommendations in late December, and local governments will soon begin competing for a portion of this pot of money.
Read a Georgia Water Coalition press release about the Governor's
Read CRBI's Musselhead Blog on this issue.
Two Coosa River Basin sites on Georgia's Dirty Dozen List for 2011
Two sites in the Coosa River Basin were named to the Georgia Water Coalition's Dirty Dozen, a list of the worst offenses to Georgia's water in 2011. The proposed Shoal Creek reservoir in Dawson County was No. 5 on the list while Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Hammond on the Coosa River in Floyd County finished out the list at No. 12. The Shoal Creek reservoir could significantly impact flows on the Etowah River by transferring as much as 100 million gallons of water a day to Metro Atlanta. Plant Hammond impacts river health and fish on the Coosa by withdrawing as much as 590 million gallons a day and discharging it back to the Coosa at an elevated temperature. Learn more and view the Coalitions full report.
Fall Newsletter Now Online!
The Fall edition of CRBI's Mainstream newsletter is now available online. Click here to read about...Georgia Water Coalition's Dirty Dozen in the Coosa Basin, CRBI's water conservation audits in Trion and Summerville, new information about Rome's Burwell Creek development and much more!
Would You Build a Shopping Center Here?
The photo at left shows deer grazing on a portion of land that is slated for development as a regional shopping center in Rome. The development proposal involves destroying four acres of wetlands and filling nearly 50 acres of floodplain forest--publicly-owned land that had been proposed as part of Rome's "Central Park" stretching from the Oostanaula River to historic Jackson Hill. Federal permits for the project, which were issued without a public notice or comment period in 2008, are set to expire in March 2012. CRBI is working to insure that the local community has the opportunity to comment on and influence the outcome of this proposal so that critical wetlands and floodplain are protected
Click here to learn more about the Burwell Creek property.
Federal Court Ruling On Lanier impacts dam projects in Upper Etowah
A June 29 Federal District Court ruling that Metro Atlanta and communities around Lake Lanier may use the federal reservoir for water supply could change the water planning landscape in North Georgia and help prevent an ecological and financial disaster for Georgia. The ruling overturned a 2009 Circuit Court decision which determined that Lake Lanier
was never authorized by Congress for water supply and gave Georgia a 2012 deadline to obtain Congressional authorization and reach a water sharing agreement with Alabama and Florida--or lose access to the region's primary water supply. During the past two years, that ruling has spawned a rash of reservoir proposals in the Upper Etowah that would wipe out large populations of endangered fish, divert millions of gallons of water to Metro Atlanta through interbasin transfers and cost Georgians hundreds of millions of dollars.
For more information on the ruling, read the Musselhead Blog. Click here to read an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story about the ruling Click here to learn about the Shoal Creek Reservoir Project in Dawson CountyDawson Forest: "Epicenter of Biodiversity"
In September, CRBI and a host of Dawson County citizens addressed the Dawson County Commission during a public hearing to receive input on the proposed Shoal Creek Reservoir. The overwhelming majority of the citizens who spoke opposed the project. Since these hearings, the Commission has decided to table a vote on a resolution supporting the reservoir. A dam on Shoal Creek would have significant impacts to the survival of the Etowah and Cherokee darters, federally protected species that still survive in Shoal Creek. Proponents of the Shoal Creek Reservoir want to construct a 1,200-acre water supply reservoir within the 10,000-acre Dawson Forest WMA to provide as much as 100 million gallons a day to Metro Atlanta through an interbasin transfer from the Etowah to Chattahoochee river basin.
Click here to learn more about the Dawson Forest Shoal Creek Reservoir
