Vision and Goals: Middle Chattahoochee

Vision

The Council developed a regional vision statement to describe the planning region’s water future. The Council adopted the following vision statement:

"Our vision is that our descendants have safe, clean and abundant water to meet their needs in the Middle Chattahoochee Region; seeking to accomplish that through reasonable efforts in cooperation, education, and preservation."

Goals

After developing the vision, the Middle Chattahoochee Council developed specific goals to support this vision which were as follows:

  • Political. The plan will provide the technical basis to help resolve the issues pertaining to water resources management and competing interests. 
  • Uncertainties. The plan will provide guidance for effective policies and appropriate actions during drought, economic uncertainty, regulatory or political influences, and affects of climate variability.
  • River System. The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river systems are unique asset within the region. The management of the rivers and their uses (hydropower, navigation, water quality, water supply, flood control, fish and wildlife, recreation and cooling water for nuclear and coal fired power plants) are vital to the region. The plan may recommend adjustments to the management directives and uses of the river systems in order to achieve a balance of future water requirements within the region.
  • Land Use Changes. The plan will acknowledge the increasing tax value of land and resulting trends: increasing urbanization, fewer natural forests, and decreasing agricultural land. However the plan will seek to encourage agricultural land and forest land conservation by providing for their water requirements.
  • Water Balance. The plan will provide a better understanding of water balance and consumptive use and clearly define returns to surface water, the need for storage, and provide guidance for the increasing trend for groundwater usage.
  • Population. The plan will address the water needs for an increasing [resident] population as well the increased transient population at such locations as Fort Benning.
  • Quantity and Quality. The plan will establish the necessary goals to achieve water quality and quantity throughout the Middle Chattahoochee basin.
  • Conservation / Green. The plan will encourage forest, agriculture and open land and habitat preservation. It will also encourage alternative energy sources, water conservation, and increased protection of habitat and natural resources.

The regional vision and goals were used to develop the plan and to influence the selection of water management practices.