The State Water Plan established innovative approaches to water management in Georgia. An ongoing process for regional water planning is central to this effort.

This figure depicts Georgia’s comprehensive water planning cycle. The approach emphasizes flexibility, allowing state agencies, Water Planning Councils, water users, and others to adapt as new circumstances and information arise. The approach ensures that regional differences, as reflected in water needs and the condition of regional water resources, are integral considerations in management decisions.

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Both Water Quality Management and Water Quantity Management flow through this process from start to finish, then back to the beginning.

  1. Water Resources Assessment and Monitoring
  2. Forecast Needs for Water and Assimilative Capacity
  3. Identify Management Practices to Meet Needs and Protect Water Resources
  4. Implement and Evaluate Management Practices

Throughout the cycle, the Water Planning Councils' Vision and Goals and the Current Statutes and Rules persist.

Over the past three years, the Water Planning Councils, the Environmental Protection Division, and other state agencies have put this cycle in motion, helping Georgia take an important step forward in water management. The Councils’ have considered information on the condition of water resources in their region (Item #1 above) along with information on the anticipated water needs (Item #2 above). They then identified actions that, when implemented, will help ensure that each region’s water resources can sustainably meet water needs, now and in the future (Item #3 above). Each Council’s vision and goals for their regional water future served a frame of reference as they prepared their recommendations.

The next steps are to implement the regional water plans and evaluate the effect of the practices that are put in place. And, as the regional water plans recognize, it will be important that we continue to improve information on water needs and the condition Georgia’s water resources. This information will be the starting point for a renewed look at regional water plans in 2016 when, as the State Water Plan requires, Water Planning Councils will review their plans and revise them as needed.