By Jessica Waters
The Toccoa Record
Thursday, October 15, 2009

Following nearly five years of research and deliberation, the Toccoa Infrastructure Committee, at Monday’s regular City of Toccoa Commission meeting, announced it has completed a study of the Lake Toccoa watershed.

Committee members presented commissioners with a complete report, entitled “Lake Toccoa Watershed Threats, Trends and Recommendations.”

The committee, formed on Feb. 3, 2005 by an act of the Stephens County Development Authority, was charged with “identifying threats and trends to the watershed and offer recommendations to protect it,” explained committee chairman Buddy Lawson.

“Currently, we have 8.5 million gallons per day available to us from four watersheds; Lake Toccoa, Davidson Creek, Lawson Lake and Lake Yonah,” the report summary states. “Competition in our region is growing for the same water source(s) and we must take as much control of it as possible and protect it.”

Lawson, addressing the commissioners, put forth five overall recommendations to accomplish that goal of protection and preservation:

• Prohibit development of any kind on city-owned property surrounding Lake Toccoa.

• Control golf course storm water run-off into Lake Toccoa and control chemicals applied to the golf course.

• Prepare and implement a plan for regional water sales.

• Dredge Lake Toccoa and the Davidson Creek Impoundment.

• Extend water discharge piping from Davidson Creek to Lake Toccoa.

“Seventy percent of the earth is covered in water … but only .007 percent of all the water in the world is available for us as human beings,” Lawson said to commissioners. “I thought that was significant, and brings home the need for protecting our watershed and water resources.”

The committee identified a total of 22 threats to the watershed, including items such as fecal coliform, unrestricted access, water source competition and dam failure.

“The report has more detailed tabulations of threats and shows recommendations for each one, but that was getting lengthy,” Lawson said. “So we picked five recommendations that would cover 90-95 percent of all threats.”

Of those five overall recommendations, restrictions and/or prohibitions on development ranked as highest in importance, said Lawson.

“The last one is to prohibit the development of any kind around Lake Toccoa,” he said. “We think this is the most important, and just the stroke of the pen can put something in place where no one can ever change it again.”

Lawson asked commissioners to commit to a time when they would make a decision on moving forward or declining the committee’s recommendations.

“My take would be by the end of the year, that way we can do due diligence on the matter,” said mayor Ron Seib.

Following discussion of the report and the recommendations, Seib presented Lawson with a resolution extending the commission’s “heartfelt thanks and congratulations to the committee as a whole, but especially to chairman Buddy Lawson, for the years of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work on the behalf of the citizens of Toccoa and Stephens County.”

By Jessica Waters
The Toccoa Record
Thursday, October 15, 2009

Following nearly five years of research and deliberation, the Toccoa Infrastructure Committee, at Monday’s regular City of Toccoa Commission meeting, announced it has completed a study of the Lake Toccoa watershed.

Committee members presented commissioners with a complete report, entitled “Lake Toccoa Watershed Threats, Trends and Recommendations.”

The committee, formed on Feb. 3, 2005 by an act of the Stephens County Development Authority, was charged with “identifying threats and trends to the watershed and offer recommendations to protect it,” explained committee chairman Buddy Lawson.

“Currently, we have 8.5 million gallons per day available to us from four watersheds; Lake Toccoa, Davidson Creek, Lawson Lake and Lake Yonah,” the report summary states. “Competition in our region is growing for the same water source(s) and we must take as much control of it as possible and protect it.”

Lawson, addressing the commissioners, put forth five overall recommendations to accomplish that goal of protection and preservation:

• Prohibit development of any kind on city-owned property surrounding Lake Toccoa.

• Control golf course storm water run-off into Lake Toccoa and control chemicals applied to the golf course.

• Prepare and implement a plan for regional water sales.

• Dredge Lake Toccoa and the Davidson Creek Impoundment.

• Extend water discharge piping from Davidson Creek to Lake Toccoa.

“Seventy percent of the earth is covered in water … but only .007 percent of all the water in the world is available for us as human beings,” Lawson said to commissioners. “I thought that was significant, and brings home the need for protecting our watershed and water resources.”

The committee identified a total of 22 threats to the watershed, including items such as fecal coliform, unrestricted access, water source competition and dam failure.

“The report has more detailed tabulations of threats and shows recommendations for each one, but that was getting lengthy,” Lawson said. “So we picked five recommendations that would cover 90-95 percent of all threats.”

Of those five overall recommendations, restrictions and/or prohibitions on development ranked as highest in importance, said Lawson.

“The last one is to prohibit the development of any kind around Lake Toccoa,” he said. “We think this is the most important, and just the stroke of the pen can put something in place where no one can ever change it again.”

Lawson asked commissioners to commit to a time when they would make a decision on moving forward or declining the committee’s recommendations.

“My take would be by the end of the year, that way we can do due diligence on the matter,” said mayor Ron Seib.

Following discussion of the report and the recommendations, Seib presented Lawson with a resolution extending the commission’s “heartfelt thanks and congratulations to the committee as a whole, but especially to chairman Buddy Lawson, for the years of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work on the behalf of the citizens of Toccoa and Stephens County.”