WATERWAY REPAIRS
CHATTANOOGA CREEK REHAB PROJECT INCLUDES SEPTIC REPAIR GRANTS FOR SOME HOMEOWNERS
TLimestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council is taking a multipronged approach to a Chattanooga Creek restoration project, aiming to improve the waterway and its tributaries. The project is being partially funded by a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Failing septic systems can leak fecal matter into streams and creeks, and the council has funds to pay 40% of septic repairs for Northwest Georgia homeowners in the Chattanooga Creek watershed. The council is also funding urban runoff control projects, at least one agricultural runoff project, trash pickups and educational programs.
“By addressing all of the above, we’re trying to reduce sediment, bacteria, reduce nutrients, the speed of water, improve fish habitat and overall quality of water to the point that it’s enjoyable to have that water flowing through your community,” Stephen Bontekoe, the council’s executive director, said in a phone interview.
Residents can contact the council by calling 423-421-0555 or view the map on its website to see if a property qualifies. The council is also offering septic cost-share programs in several other watersheds in Georgia’s Dade, Waker, Whitfield and Catoosa counties.
Chattanooga Creek starts in Alabama and flows through Rising Fawn in Dade County, Bontekoe said. Once the creek enters Tennessee, it runs past Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center at the foot of Lookout Mountain and finally empties into the Tennessee River at Moccasin Bend.
The three-year grant from the EPA went into effect in January, and Bontekoe said the council hopes to fund 20 to 25 septic system repairs in the Chattanooga Creek watershed. A similar watershed improvement project was just completed in Lookout Creek, where 34 septic system repairs for homeowners were funded in about two years.
Administered through Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, the cost of the project is nearly $293,000. The federal government provided $170,900, and the remainder includes the landowner portion and
volunteer and county staff time.
Some septic system repairs can cost nearly $9,000, while others can cost as little as $1,500 to $3,500, septic system contractors said. Bontekoe said once a contract with the council is signed, qualifying homeowners would pay for the repair and be reimbursed afterwards. There’s been a lot of interest in the project, he said.
“People are interested in improving water quality,” Bontekoe said.
A resident of Lookout Mountain, Chris Cox said he had his septic system repair completed Wednesday. Working with the council was smooth, he said.
“It’s good to know the cost share covers small repairs as well as a full replacement,” Cox said by phone.
He moved to the area in 2014, and the property where the repairs were done is his first home. Cox said warning signs of septic system problems include a bad smell, water pooling in the yard and toilets that don’t flush.
It’s important to keep the region’s water resources clean, Cox said, and he appreciates the commitment to the environment found in Georgia and Tennessee. Being from Florida, he’s seen how bad water quality can get.
Fishing and kayaking are activities he’s enjoyed when work wasn’t so timeconsuming, and he said in the summers he goes rafting in the nearby Ocoee River.
Fish are a sign of a healthy waterway, Bontekoe said. Not every area waterway the council surveyed had the number and type of fish of a completely healthy waterway, but he said they all had some fish.
Stormwater runoff projects are helpful to a waterway’s health because they slow the flow of water entering waterways, Bontekoe said. A faster flow into waterways can cause erosion of riverbanks and habitats, as well as causing flooding downstream, according to the EPA. The EPA added that nutrients from sewage and agriculture in water runoff can also upset the overall balance of a waterway.
Jay Martin is the owner of Flora de Mel, a meadery and restaurant next to McFarland Spring in Rossville. The spring is part of the Chattanooga Creek watershed, and he said in a phone interview that having a year-round waterway running past the patio attracted him to the historic building.
The council is planning a stormwater improvement project for McFarland Spring, and Martin said he’s excited because the project will add to the work he’s done clearing nearby brush and restoring what was once Peerless Mill’s company store.
“Stormwater control can add aesthetic value as well as help water quality,” Martin said.
When completed, Bontekoe said the infrastructure project near Flora de Mel will look like normal landscaping but will improve its health by slowing stormwater entering the spring.