Watershed Management Plan

The Watershed Management Plan sets forth strategies and recommendations for effective watershed and stormwater management and water quality protection within metropolitan north Georgia.  The Plan outlines tasks and milestones for implementing these recommendations and requirements for local governments as well as regional and state agencies.

Local management measures, undertaken by cities and counties in the Metro Water District who are responsible for stormwater issues in Georgia, form the core of the Watershed Management Plan.  An important component of the measures is a suite of five model ordinances that all local communities are required to adopt and enforces. Additional required and optional measures cover watershed planning, land development, stormwater asset management, pollution prevention, watershed conditions assessment, education and public awareness and resource-specific measures.

The Watershed Management Plan also includes policy recommendations for regional and state agencies to further implementation of watershed management and water resources protection in the Metro Water District.

Please use the links below to view or download the Watershed Management Plan.

Watershed Management Plan (Complete Document)

Cover and Table of Contents 
Executive Summary 
Section 1: Introduction 
Section 2: Rationale for Watershed Management 
Section 3: Federal and State Regulations 
Section 4: River Basin Profiles 
Section 5: Local Management Measures 
Section 6: Optional Local Management Measures 
Section 7: State and Regional Policy Recommendations 
Section 8: Education and Public Awareness 
Section 9: Implementation Plan 
Section 10: Future Plan Evaluation 
Appendix A: Model Ordinances 
Appendix B: Model Results From 2003

Note:  On May 7, 2009 the Metro Water District Board adopted the updated Watershed Management Plan.  The updated plan above replaces the September 2003 District-wide Watershed Management Plan as amended.