Georgia's most heavily used water supply, the Chattahoochee River, is about to get a check-up thanks to a federally funded study.

U. S. Rep. Mac Collins, R-Hampton, worked to ensure that the House Energy and Water Development Committee's Energy and Water Appropriations Act included $300,000 funding for further study of Atlanta's creeks and rivers that feed into the Chattahoochee. The study is critical in making plans to protect the river and ensure that Georgians living downstream have better water quality, Collins said.

Fayette County receives a portion of its water supply from the Chattahoochee. “The health of the Chattahoochee affects most of Georgia,” said Collins.

The $300,000 will permit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study and monitor wastewater flows in the Regional Atlanta Watershed Study so that it can develop a comprehensive watershed management plan. The plan will be developed for the Long Island, Marsh and Johns creeks, Utoy, Sandy and Proctor creeks, and Indian, Sugar, Intrenchment and Federal Prison creeks within metropolitan Atlanta. The plan will address water quality, flood control, storm water overflows and sanitary sewer infrastructure problems within the study area of metropolitan Atlanta.

“Whatever affects the Chattahoochee in Atlanta affects everyone downstream,” Collins said. “The river transports pollutants ranging from nitrogen and phosphorous to heavy metals. Pollution problems are made worse by raw sewage overflows which take place when storms overload old combined sewer systems. To solve this problem, we first need to know the extent of the problem, and that is why the funding for this study is key.”