Ruhlman: Water, a complex topic

Watershed Watch

Posted: Sunday, July 01, 2001

   Water. It's a pretty hot topic right now. Ask most people to name a water-related issue and many might say something about the recent water restrictions or the water wars between Georgia and our neighboring states. Others might point to a sewage spill and concerns about drinking water quality. From water supply to water quality, the issues are many, varied, related, overlapping, conflicting, and often complex. To understand them, it helps to recognize and appreciate where we have come from in terms of our dependence and impact on our water resources.




Native Americans depended on rivers for food, commerce and travel. To settle their debts with white traders, the Creeks and Cherokees ceded land along the Ogeechee, Oconee, Broad, Savannah, and Tugaloo rivers to the British in 1773. The early naturalist and traveler William Bartram passed through northeast Georgia during this time. He described rivers here as ''transparent'' and flowing over shoals and gravel-bottom stream beds. He characterized the lands around the rivers as being rich and suitable for cultivation.

   Land was cheap in this area known as the Oconee territory, and settlers quickly began to move in. Homes were often built near springs or around hand-dug wells. The original forestlands of the Piedmont were largely cleared for cultivation by the early- to mid-1800s. Row crop farming, primarily for cotton and corn, was a way of life for most settlers throughout the 19th century. The reliance on rivers for power production began to increase during this time as mills and manufacturing plants emerged as centers for agricultural and business activity.

   Early historic accounts indicate that fish were abundant in area rivers. In fact, settlers living near Cedar Shoals petitioned the governor in 1793 for ''protection of a useful fishery'' on the Oconee. Today we still use our streams and rivers for fishing, although the abundance and diversity of native fish species has declined. The primary uses of rivers today include drinking water, power production, wastewater disposal and recreation. But our streams and rivers appear to have changed since Bartram's time. Look over a bridge next time you cross a river and you'll notice it probably is not clear, particularly if it has rained, and flows mostly over a sediment-covered bottom. Why?

   The Georgia Piedmont is especially susceptible to erosion due to its steep slopes, highly erodible soils and intensive rainfall patterns. Post-settlement land clearing coupled with intensive row-crop cultivation led to significant erosion throughout the Piedmont over a century ago. Streams became choked with sediment. Bottomland areas that once had well-developed, rich surface soils became filled with thick deposits of unfertile sediment. While modern land-disturbing activities continue to impact streams and rivers today, the overall extent of impact has dramatically decreased in the past 100 years. Nevertheless, thick deposits of sediment laid down over a century ago continue to be remobilized and redistributed within drainage basins and affect the hydrology of our watersheds. Should we be concerned?

   My next column will further examine historical land use effects on watershed hydrology and will discuss the implications for modern-day watershed management.

    Melanie Ruhlman is a watershed specialist who lives in Athens.



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