Water Resource Issues in the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint Basin

The Watershed

The Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint (ACF) river basin is a major water resource shared by Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The Chattahoochee River begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia and flows southwesterly to the Alabama border, where it is shared by the two states as it flows south to Florida. It is joined there by the Flint river, which begins just south of Atlanta and flows south until it meets the Chattahoochee, forming Lake Seminole. The Apalachicola River leaves Lake Seminole and flows south to the Gulf of Mexico. The ACF River Basin drains an area of about 19,500 square miles (50,505 square kilometers), about 500 miles (800 km) long.

Sources:
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/nawqa
http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/op/rec/acf/history.htm
http://www.1000friendsofflorida.org/EMAs/Apalachicola.asp

The Chattahoochee River begins as a small Appalachian spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia, much of it in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It flows southwesterly through the Blue Ridge province and into the Piedmont. When it meets the Georgia/Alabama border near West Point, GA and Lanett, AL, it turns south and runs to the Coastal Plain province, forming the Georgia/Alabama border. It ends at Lake Seminole at the Georgia/Florida border, having run about 434 miles and draining 8,770 square miles.

Above Columbus, GA and Phenix City, AL, there are a number of hydroelectric dams. South of Columbus, the Corps of Engineers maintains a navigation channel down to the Intracoastal Waterway. Water in the basin is under increasing demand for agriculture, residential and industrial uses, navigation, power generation, recreation, and natural environment.

Sources:
http://www.riversofalabama.org/Chattahoochee/CHATTAHOOCHEE.htm
http://www.garivers.org/pdf_files/river_basin_facts/chattahoochee.pdf
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/basin7.html

The Flint River begins near Atlanta, Georgia, just north of the Atlanta airport and flows in a generally southward direction 349 miles to Lake Seminole at the Florida border, draining an area of 8,460 square miles. It flows through the Piedmont and Coastal Plain provinces. It is a free-flowing river and includes about 412,000 acres of wetland.
The Flint is contained entirely within the state of Georgia and is one of only 42 free-flowing rivers longer than 125 miles remaining within the USA.

Sources:
http://www.garivers.org/pdf_files/river_basin_facts/flint.pdf
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/basin8.html

The Apalachicola River is about 112 miles (180 kilometers) long and drains an area about 2,600 square miles, entirely within Florida. It is formed at the confluence of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers at Lake Seminole. It flows south through forests of the Florida Panhandle into Apalachicola Bay, and includes extensive swamps and wetlands.

Apalachicola River facts:
• The Apalachicola River basin includes the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR), the second largest of 25 reserves in the National Reserve System. The major objectives of the Reserve are research and education.
• The River & Bay Watershed is one of the most important bird habitats in the southeastern U.S.
• More than 360 marine mollusks are found in the watershed, many of these are endangered.
• The Apalachicola River basin stands out as one of the last ecosystems that retains much of its incredible natural resources.
• 131 species of fresh and estuarine fish live in the Apalachicola River, more than any other river in Florida.
• The Apalachicola River basin contains 127 of the very rarest species of plants and vertebrates and has the highest density of amphibians and reptiles in North American, north of Mexico.
• The Apalachicola drainage basin boasts more than 1300 species of plants, 103 of which are threatened or endangered.
• More than 50 species of mammals, including the threatened Florida black bear, the endangered West Indian Manatee, the Indiana bat, and the gray bat are found in the Apalachicola drainage basin.
• More than 1300 plant species, 40 amphibians species and 80 species of reptiles live within the Apalachicola River basin, this is the highest diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the US and Canada.
• The Apalachicola River basin has more than 180 species of fish and the area is a tremendous spawning and nursery ground for important commercial and sports fish species.
• Endangered or potentially endangered species such as the Atlanta sturgeon, blue stripped shiner, shoal bass and Suwannee bass are found in the Apalachicola River basin.
• The Apalachicola River is the fresh water source for the Apalachicola Bay, a pristine and productive estuary of major economic and ecological importance to the northern Gulf of Mexico.
• The Apalachicola Bay is one of the most productive estuaries in the northern hemisphere. The productivity of the bay is dependent on the Apalachicola River to carry fresh water and essential nutrients down stream to feed estuarine organisms.
• The Apalachicola Bay provides 90%of Florida’s oysters and over 10% of the total US production.
• The Apalachicola Bay is a major nursery for penaeid shrimp, blue crabs, and many fish species including striped bass, sturgeon, grouper, red fish, speckled trout, and flounder.
• Harvest of shrimp, crab, fish, and oysters is the driving force in the economy of Franklin County.

Sources:
http://www.apalachicolariverkeeper.org/
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/basin9.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachicola_river