Clean Water Atlanta is the City’s comprehensive, long-term action plan to ensure clean water in Atlanta for the next generation. It encompasses both safe drinking water for Atlanta’s residents and clean wastewater for the environment and the City’s downstream neighbors.
Clean Water Atlanta recognizes that Atlanta’s economic growth, jobs, affordability and quality of life all depend on clean water.
On October 16, 2002 Mayor Shirley Franklin announced The Clean Water Atlanta Five-Point Plan. With respect to wastewater, the goal of CWA is to create the cleanest urban streams and rivers in the country within a decade.
The Clean Water Atlanta Five-Point Plan
Reduce flooding and pollution caused by stormwater
· Develop a long term Master Plan – identifying specific projects – to reduce stormwater flooding and pollution.
· Implement a Stormwater Utility by the end of 2003 to fund Master Plan projects. Ben Taube has been given the responsibility for the development of the Stormwater Utility.
· Maximize the use of natural pollution-reducing methods such as greenspace ponds.
· Involve the public in oversight of the Stormwater Utility.
Eliminate sanitary sewer spills
· Continue implementation of Operation Clean Sewer, an aggressive preventive maintenance program including the following components:
a. Clean 25% of the City’s sewers per year. This will put the City in a “best in class” category.
b. Aggressively enforce the City’s grease trap ordinance to reduce illegal dumping of grease from restaurants and commercial kitchens.
c. Inspect the City’s entire sanitary sewer system within 10 years and repair and replace aged pipes as necessary.
d. Report specific progress monthly on new website: cleanwateratlanta.org. (currently in development)
· Commit to meeting all Consent Decree obligations by 2012 – two years ahead of schedule.
Monitor the water quality of every major stream and river in Atlanta
· The City has partnered with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) – the nation’s preeminent water monitoring organization – to create a comprehensive water quality monitoring program, which the USGS will begin implementing within the next 30 days.
· The program will initially monitor 40 sites to present a complete picture of the present state of the City’s streams and rivers. The USGS will monitor 20 sites on an ongoing basis over the next decade.
· The program will allow the City to identify specific sources of pollution; to crack down on individual violators; to track the progress of Clean Water Atlanta over the next 10 years.
· The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper – the State’s premier water protection non-profit organization – will assume an oversight role of the Program.
Ensure professional management of the City’s Consent Decree projects
· Rob Hunter has been named to lead Clean Water Atlanta, with day to day responsibility for ensuring success of the program, including timely completion of the hundreds of Consent Decree construction projects.
· The City will shortly name a full-time financial director of the program to effectively manage the $3 billion in spending.
Implement a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) solution that achieves high water quality, low cost and timely completion of Consent Decree obligations.
· Creates full separation of combined sewers in two basins (Greensferry and McDaniel) and one sub-basin (Stockade).
· Constructs a tunnel storage and treatment system to capture and treat 99% of the sewage and 85% of the stormwater from the remaining combined sewer area.
· Achieves 90% separation of the City’s 1,500 + mile sewer system.
· Costs an estimated $834 million, fully $150 million less than the current authorized plan.
· Construction can be completed within court-ordered Consent Decree deadlines.
The City reaffirms its commitment to achieve full sewer separation within 25 years (the current city policy). The Clean Water Atlanta Five Point Plan achieves 33% of this long-term goal in just 4 years. The Clean Water Atlanta Five Point Plan significantly reduces overall pollution to the City’s rivers and streams. The Clean Water Atlanta Five Point Plan performs 17 % better than the current authorized plan and 65% better than full separation, according to analysis based on the Clough Panel Report. Finally, the Clean Water Atlanta Five Point Plan allows for future separation in a way that will provide treatment for stormwater – something that does not exist anywhere else in the country.