There are new efforts to restore and protect the Chattahoochee River.
Federal, state, and local officials came together Thursday to announce the plan and Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen was there.
An afternoon on the Chattahoochee River in Gwinnett County is a scene fit for a postcard.
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But things may not be as perfect as they look.
“What’s something big we could do for water quality in Georgia?” Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff asked.
The senator was flanked by federal, state, and local leaders to officially launch the new Chattahoochee River Act.
The federal legislation passed last year.
It puts the river in the hands of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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The agency will work to restore and protect areas of the Chattahoochee River where water quality and the natural habitat are suffering.
The river supplies 70 percent of the metro Atlanta area’s drinking water and officials say in some areas water quality is not up to standards.
“Projects are intended to be fast once we get to design. $15 million projects. The ultimate program goal at this time is $40 million altogether. If we are successful, Congress has a history of saying ‘let’s do more,’” Army Corps of Engineers District Chief Jeremy LaDart said.
The corps says project plans could be ready within a year and work will quickly follow.
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