Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Regional Water Plan
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Prepared by: Table of Contents Executive Summary ………….……………………………..….....…...….. ES-1 Section 1 INTRODUCTION………...……...………………..………..... 1-1 1.1 The Significance of Water Resources in Georgia………... 1-1 1.2 State and Regional Water Planning Process…….….….... 1-3 1.3 The Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Council’s Vision and Goals……...…….……………………………….. 1-4 Section 2 THE LOWER FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE WATER PLANNING REGION.…………....………….…………….… 2-1 2.1 History and Geography…..……………………….……..….. 2-1 2.2 Characteristics of this Water Planning Region…...…….… 2-1 2.3 Policy Context for this Regional Water Plan………...….… 2-4 Section 3 CURRENT ASSESSMENT OF WATER RESOURCES OF THE LOWER FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE WATER PLANNING REGION……..............................................… 3-1 3.1 Major Water Uses in this Water Planning Region.……….. 3-1 3.2 Current Conditions Resource Assessments……...….….... 3-3 3.2.1 Surface Water Availability………...………….....…… 3-4 3.2.2 Groundwater Availability………...……………….….. 3-7 3.2.3 Surface Water Quality……………...…………..……. 3-10 3.3 Ecosystem Conditions and In-stream Uses………………. 3-12 3.3.1 303(d) List and TMDLs………..………………….….. 3-12 3.3.2 Fisheries, Wildlife, and Recreational Resources..… 3-12 Section 4 FORECASTING FUTURE WATER RESOURCE NEEDS………………………………………………………... 4-1 4.1 Municipal Forecasts…….…...….……………………….….. 4-1 4.1.1 Municipal Water Forecasts……...…………….…..… 4-1 4.1.2 Municipal Wastewater Forecasts………....………... 4-2 4.2 Industrial Forecasts………..……………….…...………..…. 4-3 4.2.1 Industrial Water Forecasts……….……..………….... 4-3 4.2.2 Industrial Wastewater Forecasts…….……..…..…... 4-4 4.3 Agricultural Water Demand Forecasts…………….………. 4-4 4.4 Thermoelectric Power Production Water Demand Forecasts........................................................................... 4-5 OCHLOCKONEE 4.5 Total Water Demand Forecasts…………..…..………….… 4-6 ‐ FLINT Section 5 COMPARISON OF WATER RESOURCE CAPACITIES AND FUTURE NEEDS..………….…………………….…… 5-1 5.1 Surface Water Availability Comparisons……..….………... 5-1 LOWER June 2017 i Table of Contents 5.2 Groundwater Availability Comparisons……..………...…… 5-5 5.3 Surface Water Quality Comparisons………………….…… 5-7 5.4 Summary of Potential Gaps Between Resource Capacities and Future Needs…………………………….… 5-10 Section 6 ADDRESSING WATER NEEDS AND REGIONAL GOALS………………...…………………………….……..… 6-1 6.1 Identifying Water Management Practices………..……..… 6-1 6.2 Selected Water Management Practices for the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region……………….. 6-3 Section 7 IMPLEMENTING WATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES………………………………………………….. 7-1 7.1 Implementation Schedule and Responsible Parties……... 7-1 7.2 Fiscal Implications of Selected Water Management Practices………………………………………………………. 7-8 7.3 Alignment with Other Plans………..…………………......… 7-13 7.4 Recommendations to the State………..…………..……..... 7-14 Section 8 MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRESS……...…. 8-1 8.1 Benchmarks………………………………………………….. 8-1 8.2 Plan Updates………..……………..…………………...….… 8-5 8.3 Plan Amendments……..…………….........……………….... 8-5 8.4 Conclusion………………..………………….……………..… 8-5 Appendix A-Summary of Edits and Updates 2016-2017 Review and Revisions…………………………………………….…. A-1 TABLES ES-1: Resource Assessment Results – Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region………………………………….................. ES-5 3-1: Summary of Surface Water Availability Resource Assessment Results: Flint and Ochlockonee Rivers (Current Conditions)…...… 3-6 3-2: Summary of Surface Water Availability Resource Assessment Results: Chattahoochee River (Current Conditions)……………..… 3-7 3-3: Groundwater Resource Assessment Results for Assessed OCHLOCKONEE ‐ Aquifers in Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region (Current Conditions)………………………………………………….... 3-8 FLINT 5-1: Surface Water Availability Resource Assessment Results: Flint and Ochlockonee Rivers (Future Conditions, 2050)…….…..…….. 5-2 LOWER 5-2: Characteristics of Modeled 2050 Potential Surface Water Gaps…. 5-4 ii June 2017 Table of Contents 5-3: Summary of Surface Water Availability Resource Assessment Results – Chattahoochee River (Future Conditions, 2050).………. 5-5 5-4: Groundwater Resource Assessment Results for Assessed Aquifers in Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region (Future Conditions, 2050)……….…..…………................................ 5-6 6-1: Water Management Practices Selected for the Lower Flint Ochlockonee Water Planning Region…………………………..….... 6-4 7-1: Implementation Schedule for Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region………………………..……….…………..…….…… 7-2 7-2: Cost Estimates for Implementation Responsibilities………..……… 7-9 8-1: Benchmarks for Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Regional Water Plan.... 8-1 FIGURES 1-1: River Basins and Water Planning Regions of Georgia………….…. 1-2 1-2: Water Planning Process…………………...……………………….…. 1-3 2-1: Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region……….……........ 2-2 2-2: Land Cover in the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region.………………………………………………………………….. 2-3 3-1: 2010 Water Supply by Source Type………...……..……………....... 3-2 3-2: 2010 Surface Water Withdrawal by Category..……..…………...…. 3-2 3-3: 2010 Groundwater Withdrawal by Category..…………...……….…. 3-2 3-4: 2010 Wastewater Treatment by Category…….………………….…. 3-2 3-5: Assimilative Capacity Results from Dissolved Oxygen Assessment: Flint and Ochlockonee Rivers (Current Conditions).. 3-14 3-6: Summary of Impaired Waters in Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Region………………………………………………....…...... 3-15 4-1: Water Demand in 2015 and 2050………………………………….… 4-7 4-2: Wastewater Flow in 2015 and 2050……………………………….… 4-7 4-3: Total Water and Wastewater Forecasts………..………………….... 4-8 5-1: Assimilative Capacity Results from Dissolved Oxygen Assessment: Flint and Ochlockonee Rivers (Future Conditions, 2050)…………………………………………………………………….. 5-9 OCHLOCKONEE ‐ FLINT LOWER June 2017 iii [THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK] Acronyms and Abbreviations ACF Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint ASR aquifer storage and recovery AWWA American Water Works Association BMP best management practice cfs cubic feet per second CSO combined sewer overflow DCA Department of Community Affairs DM demand management DNR Georgia Department of Natural Resources DO dissolved oxygen EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPD Georgia Environmental Protection Division FDEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission GEFA Georgia Environmental Finance Authority GFC Georgia Forestry Commission GSWCC Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission GWPPC Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center HCP Habitat Conservation Plan HUC hydrologic unit code IBT interbasin transfer I/I inflow and infiltration IWA International Water Association LAS land application system FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE mgd million gallons per day LOWER June 2017 v Acronyms and Abbreviations NAICS North American Industry Classification System NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) OCGA Official Code of Georgia Annotated OPB Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (Georgia) SF supply management and flow augmentation TMDL total maximum daily load USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USGS U.S. Geological Survey WQ water quality WRD Wildlife Resources Division (Georgia) 7Q10 lowest seven day average flow in a 10-year period FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE LOWER vi June 2017 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This Regional Water Plan reflects the commitment and contributions of the members of the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Council. The Council members volunteered their time, expertise, and talents before, during, and after numerous council meetings, joint council meetings, committee meetings, and conference calls during the review and revision of this Regional Water Plan. Richard Royal, Chairman Camilla Hal Haddock, Vice Chairman (deceased) Damascus Jimmy Webb, Vice Chairman Leary Lucius Adkins Elmodel Steve Bailey Donalsonville Jimmy Champion Sylvester Terry Clark Moultrie Casey Cox Camilla David Dixon Leesburg Vince Falcione Albany Dan Hammack Edison John A. Heath Dawson Josh G. Herring Boston Connie Hobbs Leary Huddy Hudgens, Jr. Albany Hank Jester Blakely Jerry Lee Cairo Chuck E. Lingle Albany Phil Long Bainbridge Elaine Mays Thomasville George C. McIntosh Albany Mike Newberry Arlington Calvin Perry Moultrie Dan Ponder Donalsonville Ray Prince Cairo Jim Quinn Leesburg Steve Singletary Blakely Bill Yearta Sylvester Senator Dean Burke (Ex-Officio) Representative Gerald Greene (Ex-Officio) FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE LOWER LOWER June 2017 vii Acknowledgements The Council gratefully acknowledges Gail Cowie and Jennifer Welte of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Black & Veatch/Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center team for their efforts to support the Council. The Council members remember with great fondness and admiration Vice Chairman Hal Haddock, who passed away in January 2017. For decades, he worked to ensure that the region’s water resources will provide for the needs and enjoyment of future generations. FLINT-OCHLOCKONEE LOWER LOWER viii June 2017 Executive Summary Executive Summary Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Regional Water Plan This document is the revised Regional Water Plan of the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Regional Water Planning Council (the Council). The original Regional Water Plan of the Council was adopted in 2011, and this revision was adopted in 2017. This Plan was developed by the Council and approved by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). The Plan provides a roadmap to guide long-term use of this water