2005

• Significantly improved an urban tributary to Proctor Creek in Atlanta with a landfill cleanup, the removal of tons of tires and trash, the official naming of the stream, and new water education programs for a nearby school.

• Created the statewide Get the Dirt Out program to keep muddy water from construction sites out of waterways, and trained hundreds of citizens, local officials and developers on erosion control regulations and best practices.

• Filed, and then settled, a legal action against the state Department of Corrections to remedy problems from severe erosion downstream of the construction of a state facility, which harmed a community’s wetlands and lakes.

• Completed a project with the University of Georgia to map tree canopy loss and increases in hard surfaces in metro Atlanta; the conclusions—54 acres of trees lost and 28 acres of hard surfaces developed every day—are now being used to promote protection of watersheds and greenspace.

•  Monitored compliance by East Point with an order forcing the city to finally fix its leaking sewer lines which have polluted neighborhood streams for many years—after UCR served as the catalyst for the enforcement action in 2004.

•  Filed an appeal of Georgia’s regulations governing the control of stormwater from industrial facilities, such as metal manufacturing plants, landfills, junkyards, and poultry processing plants, after efforts to negotiate a compromise with the state failed.

•  Successfully worked with representatives of the business community to secure increased legislative appropriations of fees collected to clean up hazardous waste and solid waste sites and administer erosion control programs.

• Along with other members of the Georgia Water Coalition, advocated that Georgia’s waters remain a public resource, during proceedings of a bankrupt paper company.

•  For the fifth year, brought 1,800 students aboard our floating classroom on Lake Lanier for hands-on learning activities; also continued to distribute our award-winning Waters to the Sea Program to teachers and students in the river basin.

• Initiated a year-long water education program for Hispanic youth in the Gainesville-Hall County area.

• Served as a beneficiary and co-organizer of the first-ever Paddle Georgia, a 7-day, 110-mile journey down the Chattahoochee River for hundreds of people who learned about the river, its uses and history, and the challenges to improve its health.

• Created a brand-new, comprehensive website with extensive information about the Chattahoochee and opportunities for individual, government and corporate involvement.