Georgia Water Coalition
SELC a leader in protecting Georgia's waters
©Craig Tanner
The Chattahoochee River provides recreation opportunites and drinking water for millions of Atlantans.
The Georgia Water Coalition was founded in 2002 by SELC and three other groups – the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Georgia Conservancy and Georgia Wildlife Federation. By joining forces, the coalition has quickly become a powerful advocate at all levels across the state for protecting rivers, lakes, groundwater, wetlands and other water resources.
Now with more than 120 member groups, the coalition has made remarkable progress toward its goal of maintaining Georgia’s waters as a public resource, and of bringing about comprehensive water resource planning and management that ensure a clean and plentiful supply of water while protecting aquatic habitat and recreational values.
In 2003, the coalition helped defeat legislation that would have privatized Georgia’s water resources and led to the marketing and sale of water to the highest bidder. In 2004, the coalition secured legislation that for the first time ever in Georgia mandates state-wide water planning.
The Georgia Water Coalition is now participating in the planning process to promote sound policies that accommodate human needs and the environment. The legal underpinnings of these policies will have a profound effect on the future of water management in Georgia. SELC, which directs the legal components of the coalition’s work, is focused on ensuring that the regulatory framework includes protections for in-stream flow and aquatic biodiversity along with requirements for conservation, among other considerations.
