Environmental Flows and Healthy Rivers

As is the case throughout the country and throughout much of the world, it’s critical that Georgia establish and implement policies that sustainably address the quantity of water flowing in our rivers and the ways in which river flows are altered by various human activities.

Unfortunately, Georgia has been operating under an “interim” instream flow policy since 2001. The GWC’s 2010 report calls on state policymakers to adopt and implement a final instream flow policy. The policy should be science-based and protective of instream needs, and it should result in the restoration, maintenance, and preservation of natural seasonal flow patterns for streams and rivers. It should maintain and restore natural variations in stream flow patterns and minimize biological disruption for reasons of water quality, ecology, and economic benefits, including recreation.

Until a final policy is developed, site-specific instream flow studies should be required of all new projects that have the potential to significantly alter natural stream flow. The results of these studies should be used to establish flow requirements downstream of such projects.

Recent Updates:

In 2010, GWC partners advocated for scientifically rigorous instream flow metrics to be used in the resource modeling for Georgia’s regional water planning.

Unfortunately, the regional water planning process has utilized what are known as “monthly 7Q10” low flows as a metric against which planned management practices are gauged. “Monthly 7Q10” is a statistical construct that means simply this: the lowest 7-day average flow that would be expected to occur in a given month in a stream once every 10 years.

Background: In 2001, the State Board of Natural Resources set an “interim” instream minimum flow policy based on 7Q10 statistics, despite the well-documented advice of their own fisheries biologists. The approach based on 7Q10 statistics reflected concerns only about assimilating wastewater, and not about the broader concerns of the other experts inside the Department of Natural Resources who urged a policy that would be more protective of streams and rivers, and take into account variable flows throughout the year and from year to year. Stated differently, withdrawing water at rates and at times which drive a stream to a drought-like condition (like 7Q10 flows) often has negative impacts on downstream communities, businesses, and farms; fish and wildlife populations and subsequently hunters and anglers; and river recreation and aesthetics.

Yet, a decade-old “interim” flow policy of the Georgia DNR Board has thus far driven the analyses, and therefore the management options, of the regional water planning councils statewide. While the recommendations of GWC partner groups regarding instream flows were not incorporated into the modeling for this round of regional water planning, we will continue to advocate for a full and scientific assessment of Georgia’s environmental flow policies to assure a sustainable and healthy future for Georgia’s rivers and all who depend on them.