The City of Gainesville is in a partnership with Forsyth County, Gwinnett County and Hall County to preserve and protect the water quality of Lake Lanier and other bodies of water.
At this morning’s work session, the city agreed to put an amendment on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting to continue this longstanding partnership that has been in place since 1994.
A renewal agreement of what is called the Water Resources Steering Committee (WRSC) is presented to the city council every five years. It costs close to $44,000 a year to fund the Lake Lanier Water Quality Study. Those costs are split evenly between the four entities, meaning the City of Gainesville is responsible for approximately $11,000. The funding comes out of the Department of Water Resources.
The WRSC is part of the Upper Chattahoochee Basin Group (UCBG). The UCBG partners with the University of North Georgia to have its students go out and collect and analyze the water samples.
“It has a little more validity to certain groups when the sampling and testing is done by an outside source other than just the city or the county,” said Horace Gee, Gainesville Environmental Services Administrator, to the city council.
The four aforementioned members of the WRSC are the only voting members on the committee. The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Georgia Mountain Regional Developmental Center, White County, Habersham County, City of Flowery Branch, City of Oakwood, Dawson County and Lumpkin County are represented on the committee as non-voting members.
If this amendment is approved, the funds will be sent to Forsyth County and they will cut a check to the University of North Georgia to continue the efforts of protecting the region’s water sources.
