02/21/1997

Alabama's Lack of Nutrient Pollution Regulations Could Hamper Water Use Negotiations with Georgia

AUBURN, Ala. - Alabama's lack of regulations concerning nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in public lakes will put the state at a disadvantage in ongoing water management negotiations with Georgia, said an Auburn University fisheries professor who has studied water quality in both states for more than 10 years.

"Georgia has water quality standards related to this problem, and we don't," said AU's David Bayne. "It will be difficult to convince them of our water management needs if we don't have standards for protecting our own bodies of water. We will need to be able to negotiate with Georgia on a level playing field."

The Alabama Fisheries Association (AFA) is pushing for the state to enact regulations designed to monitor and control discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus, which in excessive amounts can cause lakes to produce enough algae and other plants to kill fish and degrade municipal and recreational uses. An AFA position paper drafted by Bayne points out that 77 percent of Alabama's public lake surface area has high concentrations of the two plant nutrients and that almost all lakes have shown signs of increasing pollution since 1985. Increased upstream water use is one factor that will make this problem even worse, Bayne said.

"Current debate between Alabama and Georgia concerning upstream water uses in the Coosa, Tallapoosa and Chattahoochee river basins will have important water quantity, as well as water quality implications," he said. "We need to get some standards in place so we'll be in a better position to negotiate on the tradeoffs that will result from Georgia's water management plans. "Georgia enacted one the nation's toughest lake protection laws in 1990," Bayne added. "In the impending settlement over water usage, Georgia will likely emphasize their progressive approach to water management."

Alabama does not currently require permitted effluent dischargers -- such as wastewater treatment plants, paper mills or food processing facilities -- to monitor and report the nitrogen and phosphorus content of the water they release into the state's streams. This makes it virtually impossible to identify sources of nutrient pollution, Bayne said. In 1996, the AFA passed a resolution calling for the state to require dischargers to add plant nutrients to the list of variables they routinely report. AFA's resolution also recommends that Alabama establish lake-specific water quality criteria related directly to nutrient pollution and its biological effects.

"Current standards will not prevent Alabama lakes from becoming excessively productive because of nutrient loading," Bayne said. "For example, secondary treatment of municipal wastewater removes only 12 percent of total phosphorus and 58 percent of total nitrogen. Not all waste treatment in Alabama is that efficient in nutrient removal.

"Georgia's new lake protection law is relevant to Alabama in several ways," he continued. "Georgia lakes are similar to Alabama lakes -- predominantly mainstream, river impoundments."

The law requires that each public lake in Georgia be adequately studied before the state adopts lake water quality standards. Within one year after the completion of the comprehensive lake study, the director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources must establish specific numerical water quality standards, including such factors as pH, fecal coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and measurements of the effects of nutrient pollution. Georgia's law also includes use-classification regulations to help ensure that each lake is swimmable, fishable and drinkable. Members of the public participate in this process through written comment and public hearings. Georgia's first lake-specific standards were adopted for West Point Lake and Lake Eufaula in 1995 and 1996.

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Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Robyn Hearn

Feb. 21, 1997