ACF River Basin

Map of the ACF River Basin watershed showing the Apalachicola River and its two main tributaries, the Chattahoochee River and Flint River.

The ACF River Basin is the drainage basin—watershed of the A Apalachicola River, C Chattahoochee River, and the F Flint River, in the Southeastern United States.

Geography

The ACF River Basin begins in northern Georgia, and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola Bay, near Apalachicola, Florida. The basin drains an area of more than 19,300 square miles (50,000 km²).[1]

Water wars

These states and Alabama have been involved in a water-use dispute for two decades, known as the Tri-state water dispute.[1][2] Georgia has also lobbied the United States Congress to end navigation on the Appalachicola and lower Chattahoochee, to conserve more water during droughts. Keeping the two rivers at a navigable depth during these times requires large releases from dams upstream, sending potential drinking water downstream for shipping, and often dropping lakes to levels dangerous to boaters.

Conservation

Other ecological conservation and economic concerns include protecting harvests of oysters in Apalachicola Bay, which require a large enough flow of fresh water to prevent excessive saltwater intrusion from the Gulf.[3]

The cost of dredging silt, much of it from uncontrolled growth across metro Atlanta's fine red clay soil, has also been called wasteful to float so little ship traffic.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Richter, Brian D.; Mathews, Ruth Harrison, David L. and Wigington, Robert (February 2003). "Ecologically Sustainable Water Management: Managing River Flows For Ecological Integrity" (PDF). Ecological Applications 13 (1): 206–224. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2003)013[0206:ESWMMR]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original on 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  2. ↑ Edgens, Jefferson G (Spring 2001). "Thirst for growth". Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 16 (1): 14–8.
  3. ↑ Wilber, DH (August 1992). "Association Between Freshwater Inflows and Oyster Productivity in Apalachicola Bay, Florida". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 35 (2): 179–190. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(05)80112-X.
  4. ↑ "Florida Reaffirms Commitment to Protect Apalachicola River: Officials call for end to dredging" (Press release). Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2003-07-30. Retrieved 2007-02-14.

External links

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