02/10/2003
Reprinted with permission from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Under a set of railroad tracks in southwest DeKalb County, in a place so quiet that it seems light years from the noise and traffic of Atlanta, a basketball floats amid other debris along a stretch of the South River.

Scott Petersen, an East Atlanta resident who knows these uninhabited woods as well as most people know their homes, looks with despair at the watery mess, which includes several broken manhole covers, from Atlanta sewer overflows.

In the midst of the hurt, he has hope for this river. In the past six weeks, DeKalb County has spent $5.8 million buying 287 acres near the South River that will be preserved as green space, including this area near Moreland and Fayetteville roads.

"I'm elated to see improvements, but it's a bittersweet feeling," said Petersen, referring to the debris and pollution that has piled up in the river over the years. He is a board member of the Initiative for a Green DeKalb, a resident group created to help the county preserve and protect its green space.

The South River has been on the state's list of impaired waterways since the 1970s, which means fishing and swimming are not encouraged or recommended.

The river -- which winds from Clayton County, cutting through a sliver of the city of Atlanta and then through DeKalb, Rockdale, Henry and Newton counties, where it meets with the Yellow and Alcovy rivers -- is on the list primarily because of sewer overflows from the city of Atlanta and storm-water runoff.

"Just the fact that DeKalb has committed to do this is significant, because the less development that comes up against it, the better [the river] is going to be," said Joan Walker, past president of the South River Watershed Alliance, a resident group that has pressed DeKalb officials over the years on preservation issues.

The county bought 26 acres in December near River and Snapfinger roads in south DeKalb that county officials say may be used for passive recreational purposes. Last month, DeKalb administrators purchased 136 acres near Gresham Park. That land will likely be used for a mix of active and passive recreation.

In late December and in early January, the county acquired 125 acres near Constitution Lakes, a lush marshland where blue herons soar above willow oak and hickory trees. Several small lakes on the property are said to filter the motor oil and pollutants that seep from area roads before they get to the river.

County officials have talked about establishing an area there where people can observe the wildlife.

"I want the same for kids that I used to have as a kid," said Vernon Jones, DeKalb's chief executive officer, a self-described "country boy."

DeKalb bought the land from the Trust for Public Land, a green-space preservation group, which acquired the properties from various owners. The purchases are part of an effort among the group, the city of Atlanta and DeKalb and Rockdale counties to preserve the river.

DeKalb voters in 2001 approved a $125 million bond referendum to buy green space and to fund other park improvements. The county has boosted the total to about $140 million with state grants and other donations.

To date, the county has spent nearly $32 million on about 1,500 acres.

Other counties act, too

In recent years, several Georgia communities have spent millions of dollars on land near waterways to protect them from development that could cause pollution.

Gwinnett has acquired nearly 5,000 acres of green space, including 350 acres around Norris Lake that will protect stream corridors at the basins. Last June, Douglas County commissioners agreed to spend $5.6 million on 800 acres near the Dog River. The county also has bought 500 acres along the Chattahoochee River.

DeKalb officials compare their mission with the effort to preserve the Chattahoochee River. Federal, state and local governments, along with businesses and philanthropists, have contributed $145 million in recent years to buy land near the river.

The recent purchases by DeKalb County are part of a collaborative effort of the county, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Trust for Public Land. About a year ago, the Trust for Public Land helped organize meetings among DeKalb, Rockdale and Atlanta officials to devise a preservation strategy for the river. They decided to focus on buying land that could be developed or was affected by environmental problems.

The availability of this land in DeKalb, which is more than 70 percent developed, has been somewhat of a surprise to Tina Arbes, hired by DeKalb County in late 2001 to lead its green-space acquisition efforts.

"I wondered what would be salvageable," Arbes said. "But we've found some pretty amazing green space."

River has improved

In the 1960s, as south DeKalb's population increased, raw sewage began flowing into the river and foul odors filled the air. State officials subsequently halted construction near the river, citing the contamination.

Today, the river is considered vastly improved but not perfect. Catfish and bluegills can be seen swimming in its waters, but most regulars say they wouldn't fish in it.

Walker of the South River Watershed Alliance said county officials must be careful as they develop the area.

"We need to make sure we don't encroach [upon] it with bike trails that are too close to the sensitive areas," she said.

County officials say they have no such plans.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the preservation efforts involves Atlanta's efforts to prevent sewage overflows into the river. By 2007, the city must have a system built that will prevent that. Once that is done, South River likely would be removed from the state's impaired waterways list, state officials said.

Angela Graham, program director of the Trust for Public Land, said the preservation effort must include more than the land acquisitions; it also must include cleaning the river and getting area community groups involved in such efforts.

"We just need to make the effort," Graham said. "It's not going to clean itself up."

©2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Reprinted with permission from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Further reproduction, retransmission or distribution of these materials without the prior written consent of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and any copyright holder identified in the material's copyright notice, is prohibited.