This study assessed the feasibility of utilizing the 10,130-acre property in Dawson County for construction of water reservoir capacity to supply emergency and long-term water needs of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The study concluded that significant water supply storage for future needs can be realized by utilizing the Dawson County property and its strong flowing streams.
The city of Atlanta owns 10,130 acres in Dawson County, purchased from Lockheed in the early 1970s for the site of a second Atlanta airport. Although still under possible consideration as a second airport site, the tract is quite mountainous in its terrain, and in development costs it compares poorly with more level sites to the south of the tract. The site also has other serious problems with location and support infrastructure.
A more viable use of the 10,130-acre tract is for creation of extensive deep-water storage lakes to furnish a raw water supply to the Atlanta metropolitan area. The magnitude of water available from this concept could significantly postpone or possibly alleviate the water crisis that planners say will eventually limit metropolitan Atlanta's growth.
A lawsuit by the state of Alabama against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now threatens future water withdrawal allocations from the Chattahoochee and Etowah Rivers. This water storage concept could alleviate some of the concerns for the state of Alabama.
Total average daily water demand for metropolitan governmental entities is in the 350 million gallon per day range and increasing. In severe droughts, this average demand soars by as much as 50 percent to peak demands of more than 500 million gallons per day. Water use restrictions and conservation measures alone cannot effectively deal with the ever increasing peak water demand. These water demands must also be dealt with by more direct construction means rather than purely by water conservation or growth restrictions.
Water withdrawal allocations issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division could become more restrictive as various water interests (municipal water supply, electrical power companies, navigation, recreationalists, environmentalists, and neighboring downstream states of Alabama and Florida) compete more aggressively.
The site has three major streams: the Etowah River and its tributaries, Amicalola Creek, and Shoal Creek. The Etowah River is a major river originating in the north Georgia mountains forming Lake Allatoona in Cherokee, Bartow, and Cobb Counties. Amicalola Creek is a bold stream best known for Amicalola Falls and sections of white water rapids. Shoal Creek is a strong stream, but smaller and less bold than Amicalola Creek.
It is unique for a single tract of land to have the abundant water resources of this particular site. Since all three streams originate in the north Georgia mountains, they have uncommonly strong drought flow characteristics.
