Deny South Fulton Municipal Regional Water & Sewer Authority's application for Bear Creek Reservoir

I am writing to request that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division deny the South Fulton Municipal Regional Water and Sewer Authority's application to construct and operate the Bear Creek Reservoir.

Analysis of the Bear Creek Reservoir application reveals that this project is expected to have significant long term environmental impacts. Construction of the reservoir will destroy more than 30 acres of wetlands and 5 miles of streams. In addition, withdrawing up to 32 million gallons daily from the Chattahoochee River and damming Bear Creek will permanently impede flows in the Creek and River, adversely affecting water quality and quantity in already impaired reaches within the Chattahoochee River Basin both locally and further downstream.

SFMRWSA already has a guaranteed and reliable source of water supply through 2050; therefore, this project is not needed and the application should be denied. If the process is allowed to move forward on such a massive and expensive project with such significant impacts, the Corps and EPD should require at least two things. First, the SFMRWSA should be required to show a stronger commitment to water conservation and reduce their water demand by at least 30% by 2050, not by a meager 10%. Second, a comprehensive environmental impact statement should be prepared to consider and analyze all of the impacts to the human and natural environment.

Thank you for your consideration.

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