Over the last year, issues of water supply compounded the usual water quality concerns and increased the challenges of
handling stormwater in our communities across the Basin – and in fact, the entire region. In order to meet these needs,
the Cumberland River Compact (Compact) formally joined into partnership with the University of Tennessee- Knoxville,
the State of Tennessee, and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create the Center for Watershed
Solutions, the second Center for Watershed Management Excellence in the Southeast.
The concept for the Centers of Excellence was developed by the watershed protection branch of the EPA Region IV.
Covering eight states in the Southeast, EPA Region IV developed the idea to provide hands-on, practical products and
services that enhance water quality and quantity, promote the growth of local stakeholder associations, and aid communities
in creating and implementing locally developed solutions to water issues that affect livability and economic
sustainability.
The University of Georgia-Athens River Basin Center’s Initiative for Watershed Excellence was the first Center created
through these efforts. After this Center demonstrated it could provide cost-effective technical, organizational, and legal
assistance to stakeholders, three new Centers formed under a broadened initiative: a partnership between the University
of Tennessee-Knoxville and the Compact, Clemson University in South Carolina, and Auburn University in Alabama.
Each of the Centers will focus on increasing local stakeholder capacity to protect water quality while developing communities
sustainably and restoring impaired streams. In Georgia, the River Basin Center has coordinated faculty, staff,
and students from different disciplines at five separate universities to respond to needs identified by stakeholders. Key
academic disciplines include ecology, law, engineering, economics, geographic information systems, forestry, agriculture,
and environmental design. As the combined Centers move forward, we have agreed to work as a system across
state boundaries – a significant agreement which will utilize resources efficiently and maximize the benefit of combined
expertise and experience.
To date, the Centers have:
Contacted local officials and watershed organizations to determine areas of need and gaps in service,
Identified sources of river impairments, best management practices, and legal strategies to eliminate them,
Identified key tracts of land vital for restoring and maintaining water quality to local land trusts,
Provided experts to local organizations to assist in moving watershed protection forward in ways suitable
for their communities,
The Compact will also be working with partners from the World Wildlife Fund, Tennessee Association of Utility Districts,
Tennessee Association of County Commissioners, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to
promote recent changes to the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund.
Working together, we were able to modify the rules to allow local governments and utilities to purchase headwater
areas for the purposes of keeping clean water available for community usage. Communities will now also receive higher
loan application grades if they have buffer zone ordinances, nonpoint source pollution projects, and/or open space
plans in place. This will allow many cities and towns to more easily afford replacement and repair of water/wastewater
infrastructure that may date back to the time when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were still alive.
Raising awareness of the availability of these green infrastructure tools and explaining how they work will be a
challenge but with the continued support of our partners and members, we will be able to meet it.
Know what the major Cumberland River pollutant is? Well, it is the DIRT and
the other "stuff" from our yards, our roofs and our driveways that runs off
every time we have a good rain.
If we all kept our dirt in our own yards, the river would be a lot healthier
and safer for everyone.
Visit the Sediment page to learn more about Muddy Waters and what YOU can do
to keep your dirt at home.
