Who Is Watching Our Rivers?

Gilmer County is blessed with being the headwaters of many streams and rivers. The Cartecay, Ellijay and Coosawattee Rivers all originate in Gilmer County along with a myriad of branches and creeks that teem with native, rainbow, and brown trout. Miles of pristine trout breeding waters flow through our public and private lands. Both agriculture and development growth put pressure on our precious waterways. Working hard to educate our community about the need to care for our streams and the programs available to assist is CWA.

The CWA is the Coosawattee Watershed Alliance, a local, grass-roots, 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, dedicated to protecting, conserving and restoring the water resources of the Coosawattee River watershed. The CWA achieves this mission through education, research, science, advocacy, information-sharing and lots of hard work.

Here are a few of the projects that CWA is currently sponsoring:

-Stream Program ...
Adopt-A-Stream Program is a water quality monitoring program that assists in the early detection of water pollution problems.

Stream Bank Restoration is a re-vegetation process for local rivers and creeks that reduces erosion and sedimentation entering our streams.

Get-the-Dirt-Out Program is an educational program that teaches citizens about Georgia's erosion and sediment control laws.

Agricultural Pollution Prevention Program is an outreach program that assists farmers with pollution prevention issues and provides technical resources to maximize the benefits of best management practices.

Public Outreach Program reaches out to local citizens and shares best management practices to:

• Prevent and reduce septic tank failures
• Reduce the impact of logging and clear cutting
• Provide a citizens' hot-line to report environmental concerns or to ask for assistance in establishing best management practices.

If you want more information about CWA you can visit their website. If you would like to become involved in helping CWA with its mission, contact Scott McBride, President at scottmcbride1@hotmail.com.