Come Out to the River on June 14!
Paddlers of every skill level welcome!!

Paddlers of all ages and skill levels will take to the water on Saturday, June 14, for the 6th Annual Back to the Chattahoochee River Race and Festival. Enjoy live music, great food, kids' activities and more after the race at the FREE festival at Riverside Park.

The race starts at 9 a.m. at Garrard Landing Park on Holcomb Bridge Road and includes open and recreational categories for canoeists and kayakers of all ages. Advanced registration available through June 11 - click here for details. Walk-up regsitration available based on capacity until 8:30 a.m. on race day.

The Festival at Riverside Park, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is free and family-friendly. Enjoy live music from Gareth Asher and The Vagabonds as well as strolling magicians, face painting, a farmer’s market, food vendors, and an array of environmental exhibits.

This event is organized and presented by Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR) in partnership with the National Park Service, Fulton County, and the city of Roswell. For more information and to register, click here.

In Absence of Adequate State Monitoring, UCR Steps in to Measure River Health

In the debate over how much water should, or should not, be released from Lake Lanier for downstream needs, people sometimes forget that we must have enough water in the Chattahoochee below Atlanta (about 50 miles downstream of Buford Dam) to dilute the hundreds of millions of gallons of treated wastewater that are discharged into the river every day by cities and counties.

Water quality is closely related to water quantity. Yet, the Georgia EPD has never installed a monitoring gauge at Peachtree Creek to ensure that the state-mandated flow requirement, established 30 years ago, is being met. UCR recently began to monitor water quality in the river below the confluence of Peachtree Creek to try to determine what impact reduced releases from Buford Dam have had on our water quality.

To find out more about this issue, click here to read an AJC article (5/28/08), “Chattahoochee can't be measured at crucial juncture.”

Save the Hooch Campaign in Full Swing!

From now through July 4th, a portion of all SweetWater beer sales in metro Atlanta will go to support UCR’s river patrol and water quality monitoring programs through the Save the Hooch campaign (www.savethehooch.com). It’s a great time to stock up on SweetWater brews and support the cause of clean and abundant water!

In addition, these local bars and taverns are selling t-shirts and paper fish during the campaign to raise money for UCR: Irish Bred, Zuccas, Atkins Park, Pub 71, Loco's in Buckhead, Spondivits on Virginia Ave, SmokeJacks, Mexico Lindo, Johnny McCrackens, Marietta Pizza Company, Taco Mac, Padriacs, Wild Wing Café in Marietta, and the Mellow Mushroom in Hiram. Please patronize these establishments between now and July 4 and ask about their Save the Hooch efforts!

Also, please make Wednesday, June 18, a grocery shopping day at one of the seven metro Atlanta Whole Foods Market and Harry's Farmers Market stores, which will be donating 5% of sales that day to the Save the Hooch campaign!