Environmental Analysis for Water Allocation in the ACT and ACF River Basins: Water Quality and Freshwater Resources

Abstract

This paper describes a joint effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), numerous Federal cooperating agencies (e.g., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and various contractors) to assess the impacts of water allocation on the water quality and freshwater environmental aspects of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) and Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basins. Several numerical models, including the HEC-5 surface water quantity model, the BASINS, HEC-5Q, and CE-QUAL-W2 water quality models, and various biological evaluation tools are being used to assess mainstem riverine communities, mainstem riparian wetlands, reservoir fisheries, and protected species in a basinwide approach for these two large river basins. These analyses are being conducted to support preparation of the environmental impact statements (EISs) for each basin. Draft EISs for each basin were completed in September 1998, and preparation of Final EISs is awaiting the negotiation of the final allocation formulas by the States of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.