Page 27 - Georgia Forestry - Issue2 - Spring 2018

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Good Goes In, Good Comes Out
Scientific evidence noted in the Ameri- can Water Works Association (AWWA) journal, Connections, showed high quality source water saved seven cities $500,000 to $6 billion in avoided water treatment infrastructure costs. Another AWWA report said using high-quality raw water “can reduce costs because fewer chemi- cals may be needed, such as coagulants, disinfectants, and PH adjusters.”
“People are taking more notice of water value,” said Scott Thackston, Water Quality Coordinator for the Georgia Forestry Commission, “and this initiative enables us to be proactive instead of reactive.”
The Lower Savannah River Water- shed Initiative brings together five water utilities, The Savannah River Clean Water Fund, The Longleaf Alliance and the Georgia and South Carolina Forestry Commissions, among others.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
The $3.3 million project spans three years, during which several outreach efforts will inform landowners, conser- vation groups and the public about the vital service forestland provides to the area’s clean water supply.
“This is a new way of thinking,” said Ed Saxon, general manager of the Beaufort- Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, which is contributing $300,000 per year for the project. “This is money well spent. Every dollar used to protect the land provides $27 in water treatment costs. We spend a million dollars a year in chemicals. Keeping the river basin 60 percent forested saves us $100,000 a year.” Saxon added that the utility’s service area is “very green, and customers understand the importance of protecting water quality.”
Funding for the initiative is sup- plemented by a US Forest Service Landscape Restoration Grant in both South Carolina and Georgia, the Savan- nah River Clean Water Fund, and Southeastern Partnership for Forests
A YEAR
and Water, with The Longleaf Alliance providing outreach support.
Braye Boardman, executive director of the Savannah River Clean Water Fund, said this approach to source water protection has begun to take hold in other regions of the country. In New York state, water intake and its costs over a 20-year period were analyzed, and the estimate to build a new filtration plant was $6 billion in capital costs and $300 million in annual operating costs. Instead, utilities decided to spend $1.5 billion over 10 years in the Catskill Mountains watershed to help preserve the land and protect the water source. A similar project is underway in Little Rock, AR, with another planned for Greenville, SC and the Raleigh/Durham, NC regions.
“This grant will help make the con- nection between water quality and forestland,” Boardman said, “so the education component is very important.”
Boardman explained that there are two facets to this initiative: working with landowners to secure conservation ease- ments in the priority 1 and 2 areas, and emphasizing Best Management Prac- tices (BMPs) throughout the watershed. Boardman works closely with Lisa Lord of The Longleaf Alliance, who is charged with taking these messages to landown- ers and other stakeholders on both sides of the river.
“It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach,” Lord said. “Each landowner has different needs for managing and maintaining their woodlands and working forests in the watershed. Many are absentee landown- ers. I have to cast a very wide net.”
Lord’s job is a big one, and the Georgia and South Carolina Forestry Commissions are helping her track down landowners and spread the news about this landmark initiative. She said she’s been surprised,
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The 2.8 million acre Savannah River watershed provides clean water to more than a million people in Georgia and South Carolina.
keeping the RIVER BASIN 60% FORESTED
SAVES
$100,000
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