Submitted by: Jennie Inglis
Published in
The
Northeast Georgian
Friday, October 1, 2004
Did you see that picture of Pitts Park on the cover of the
September 21 issue of The Northeast
Georgian? Pitts Lake is more like
it!
My
amateurish guess tells me that that much water in Pitts Park means that the
Soque River was about 15 feet above normal!
The day
after Hurricane Frances dumped that much water on us, Ralph Shaw and I traveled
to Atlanta to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of the Upper
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR). We
learned that night that the Chattahoochee had crested at 23 feet above normal.
The Soque’s 15 feet contributed to
one of the highest recorded water levels of the Chattahoochee River in
history. So goes the water out of the
hills of Habersham, down through the valleys of Hall.
The upper
Chattahoochee, as defined by the UCR, is the 200 miles or so of the river from
West Point Lake below Atlanta to the headwaters here in Northeast Georgia.
Our beautiful
little river, the Soque, fully contained within Habersham County, makes up the
eastern branch of the headwaters. The
western headwaters rise in the hills of White County.
What is the
UCR? Its website says, “Established in
1994, the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund Inc., is an independent
environmental advocacy organization dedicated solely to protecting the
Chattahoochee River. From its headwaters
to West Point Lake, the Chattahoochee is severely impacted by urban
development, industrial discharges and agricultural runoff. State water quality standards are routinely
violated along the entire stretch of the upper Chattahoochee. Development in Atlanta and the continued
discharge of untreated sewage in the river during storms are significant problems
for communities downstream.”
“Riverkeeper’s
mission is to advocate and secure the protection and stewardship of the
Chattahoochee River, its tributaries and watershed, in order to restore and
conserve their ecological health for the people and fish and wildlife that
depend on the river system”
At the
anniversary celebration, I learned the names of some the individuals and
corporations that substantially support the UCR. That organization has some clout!
While Ralph
and I are just citizens who are concerned – more for the Soque River than the
entire upper Chattahoochee River – we are the organization, too.
Ralph made
significant personal sacrifice to the river; I dedicated a couple of years
volunteering with the Soque River Watershed Association. We are to the UCR membership what the Soque
is to the Chattahoochee. To extend that
metaphor, Habersham County is to the Atlanta Metro Area what the Soque is to
the Chattahoochee.
Those of us
here in the headwaters and the headwaters themselves, represent the grassroots
of the UCR and the Chattahoochee river system.
Our work is
here at home. Think, for just a moment,
of how our little river fits into the big picture. If you can’t imagine that, think of how the creek
that runs by your house, on your property or in your neighborhood, contributes
to the Soque.
Then,
consider the phrase, “We all live downstream.”
Notes:
The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper changed its name to the
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and is celebrating its 20th anniversary in
October 2014.
Ralph Shaw died in early 2014.
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