Contact: Patricia White, Executive Director, Peavine Watershed Alliance, P.O. Box 909, Decatur, GA 30031-0909, T: 404/508-7603, F: 404/508-7604
Introduction & Background
The Peavine Watershed Alliance (PWA) is a grassroots community-based organization dedicated to restoring and preserving an ecological balance in the Peavine Creek watershed. PWA embraces four neighborhoods in metropolitan Atlanta that lie within the six-mile square watershed of Peavine Creek and its three tributaries: Decatur Fork, Fernbank Creek, and Lullwater Creek.
PWA was founded after nearly 15 years of growing concern in the community regarding changes in the structure and function of the creek and its tributaries. The Center for Watershed Protection helped identify the affects of urbanization in the watershed and connect them to flooding and tree kills from storm surge erosion. A year of public outreach identified potential solutions and established community support for a watershed concept.
A structured organization was necessary to move forward with protecting the highly urbanized watershed. In the spring of 1997, members of an initial neighborhood watershed committee approached the Preservation Fund, Inc. for sponsorship. The Preservation Fund Board offered to assist with the formation of a self-sustaining community-based watershed association.
Under the guidance of Ms. White, community stakeholders were brought together for a presentation on the state of the watershed. Based on unanimous support for establishing a watershed association, the PWA was initiated in July z1997 as a replicable community-based process for the rehabilitation of urban streams that uses public and private partnerships.
Managerial Structure
PWA incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c) 3 and is governed by a self-perpetuating Steering Committee (Board of Directors). Selection of committee members emphasizes equal representation of the watershed geographically and broad representation of major landowners and stakeholders.
The four neighborhoods in the watershed straddle three governmental jurisdictions. Candler Park and Lake Claire are both located partly in the City of Atlanta and partly in DeKalb County (with about 1,200 residents from each neighborhood). Druid Hills (about 4,000 residents) is located within the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County, while the City of Decatur combines several small neighborhoods (with approximately 1,500 residents) that are considered jointly. In addition, nine schools are located within the watershed; three in each tributary subwatershed and Emory University is located within the mainstem of the Peavine Creek watershed.
The neighborhood associations, local governments, and educational institutions are represented on committees, as stakeholders or both. Other watershed stakeholders are also involved in the PWA as committee members, formal partners, funding sources and/or as technical advisors and general supporters. The role and configuration of the stakeholder partnerships varies according to the specific activity. However, in addition to those mentioned, the following agencies and organization have helped form, continue to support, and/or are members of the PWA: Decatur Business Association, Preservation Fund, Inc., Druid Hills Civic Association, Olmstead Linear Parks Alliance, Olmstead Parks Society, Fernbank Museum and Science Center, DeKalb Historical Society, Lullwater Garden Club, Druid Hills Golf Club, Frazer Center, Upper Chattahoochee RiverKeeper, Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and US Geologic Survey.
The Steering Committee is composed of 14 voting members chosen from the constituencies and stakeholder groups located within the watershed. Selection is based on time, talent, and commitment. Each member must be willing to provide leadership, chair a Standing Committee, and attend monthly meetings as well as have education, public relations, or funding skills. Twelve Steering Committee members represent the three tributary subwatersheds and two represent the mainstem of Peavine Creek.
An Executive Committee is empowered to make all decisions for the organization but usually reviews business and makes recommendations to the Steering Committee. It is composed of the chairs of the Standing Committees and the officers of PWA. Standing Committees include:
Communications (advertising, newsletter, public relations, website);
Education (materials, school coordination, workshops);
Finance (treasurer, in-house funding and fund raising);
Jurisdictional (governmental liaison);
Membership (community outreach and volunteer coordination);
Planning (coordinate Steering Committee activities); and
Technical (watershed projects, scope of work).
Advisory Committee membership is limited to non-voting community stakeholders that are not otherwise represented in the organizational structure but are major landowners in the watershed. General membership is open to individuals, corporations, and other entities dedicated to preserving the watershed and that pay annual membership dues.
Technical Analysis and Implementation
PWA has identified three main goals and strategies for their accomplishment. Its first goal is to build community awareness by identifying watershed problems, solutions, and ongoing stewardship activities. Strategies to accomplish this goal include:
Presentations to develop a watershed coalition;
Encouraging membership in the PWA;
Establishment of a data base for membership and volunteer recruitment;
Posting signs on watershed streams where needed;
Developing a history of the watershed through interviews and research;
Coordinating stream clean-ups within neighborhoods; and
Developing a coordinated process to empower communities to be responsible for monitoring water quality such as
expanding Adopt-A-Stream Programs to all nine schools and citizen groups,
developing watershed curriculum for schools,
developing citizen Adopt-A-Stream monitoring programs,
coordinating collection and use of data from monitoring, and
establishing a system to report violations.
PWA accomplishes these strategies through quarterly Adopt-A-Stream Workshops, quarterly Neighborhood Meetings updating the four associations on planning efforts and program directions, and quarterly creek clean-ups to gather trash and replace invasive species with native plants. It is finalizing Adopt-A-Stream partnerships with the nine schools and provides educational resources such as a Teachers Guide for K-12 that emphasizes watersheds, nonpoint source pollution, and biological and chemical monitoring in its lessons. In addition, PWA and six partners conduct quarterly Community Watershed Workshops throughout metropolitan Atlanta. The workshops accomplish common objectives by providing opportunities to network across watershed groups, undertake topical programs, socialize, and expand mailing lists.
PWA’s second goal is to develop a public education initiative for decision-makers at the political and governmental staff levels about the watershed and the benefits of a community-based process that includes:
Educating governmental agencies within the watershed, such as
CEOs and county commissioners,
mayors and city council representatives, and
department heads and staff within the county and cities;
Educating candidates for election at county, city and state levels; and
Promoting the development of environmental stewardship in Metro Atlanta.
Publication of a quarterly newsletter, The Peavine Guardian, and educational efforts of the Steering Committee members help accomplish this goal. In addition, the development of a website and a Project WET education program are planned to further the success of the education initiative.
In addition to the existing outreach venues, PWA produces a membership brochure and educational pamphlet and is developing a video. The video, Building A Watershed Alliance, will be distributed at no cost after its spring 2000 completion to help other communities replicate successful watershed models. It will document the process of how community-based groups organize and function by featuring case studies of the following emerging alliances:
Proctor Creek Alliance, headed by Carver Hills Community Association;
Rock Creek Watershed Alliance;
South River Watershed Alliance, headwaters to Lake Jackson; and
Little River Valley Association, North Fulton County to Lake Allatoona.
WA’s third goal is to develop watershed protection strategies to restore the assimilative capacity of streams and to develop criteria that can be used to identify the most feasible strategies and locations in other watersheds. The PWA believes a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan is the key to developing successful watershed protection and restoration strategies. Therefore, it is producing the first Comprehensive Watershed Management.
Plan for a defined watershed in metropolitan Atlanta that will provide the framework for ongoing sustainable management of Peavine watershed.
The Peavine watershed has been fully mapped, courtesy of W.L. Jordan, Engineering Firm. PWA will use the watershed maps to develop its Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan in partnership with the DeKalb County Parks and Recreation Department. Objectives for the plan are to provide the data on which restoration and/or enhancement of the watershed can be undertaken. These activities are likely to involve:
Controlling annual hydrology;
Stabilizing stream channel morphology;
Reducing urban pollutant loading;
Augmenting riparian cover;
Restoring in-stream habitat structure; and
Enabling re-colonization of native aquatic communities.
PWA and its partners plan to promote a combination of the following watershed protection tools to achieve the plan’s objectives:
Land use measures such as development concessions in exchange for adherence to streambank preservation guidelines;
Reduction of impervious cover in the watershed;
Protection of environmentally sensitive areas;
Establishment of a stream buffer greenway;
Land disturbance and erosion limits;
Treatment of stormwater runoff; and
Addressing non-stormwater discharge.
In addition, a greenway project has been initiated under this goal. PWA helps identify ecologically significant parcels, conducts initial investigations, and screens potential acquisitions. It encourages landowners to give conservation easements and donations but does not have the ability to preserve or maintain greenspaces and buffers. Therefore, a corresponding organization, the Trust for Aquatic Greenways was established in 1998, which is administered by a 15-member board that was also selected to emphasize watershed-wide representation. The Trust for Aquatic Greenways partners with the Chattowah Open Land Trust to acquire, maintain, and hold aquatic greenways in stewardship.
Financial Considerations
Partnerships have been a major strategy for PWA to accomplish its work objectives and funding needs. It is a volunteer run organization, including the executive director position, with annual administrative overhead of approximately $11,000. PWA receives numerous grants and donations of in-kind services, resources, and equipment. These donations along with the executive director’s time often fulfill grant requirements for matching funds.
The Preservation Fund, Inc. donated over $2,000 in grants and about $3,000 in consulting services toward start-up expenses plus the Lake Claire Neighborhood Association gave $500 toward initial overhead costs. In addition, the Druid Hills Civic Association and Emory University each gave $1,000 annually toward start-up costs during 1997 - 1999.
DeKalb County provides office space and telephone and fax service, while the City of Decatur provides in-kind services and equipment used during creek clean-ups. Emory University also helps with creek clean-ups by providing trucks and manpower to haul and dispose of collected debris. Fernbank Museum and the Druid Hills Golf Club provide meeting space and in-kind donations.
In addition to paying for operating expenses and program support, donations provide funds for specific projects. For instance, a restoration plan for the 6.5-acre Lullwater Conservation Garden has been donated by the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia. Furthermore, the Lullwater Garden Club and CVS Pharmacy have donated $500 and $3,000 respectively toward development of the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan.
PWA in partnership with the DeKalb County Parks and Recreation Department also received a two-year $250,000 319(h) FY’99 Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Implementation Grant from EPA to develop the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan. The PWA uses part of its 319(h) grant to host a portion of the watershed workshops, which are supported by each partner. In addition, the PWA anticipates funding the Project WET education program as a part of the 319(h) NPS grant.
PWA received a recent award of $7,500 from the Governor’s Discretionary Fund to assist with its educational program. Moreover, the Turner Broadcasting Foundation has given a $1,000 grant.
Furthermore, PWA and its partners received a 50% matching fund grant totaling $82,000 from the Atlanta-Urban Resources Partnership program to produce the video. In addition, Emory University faculty, staff, and students have donated their expertise to accomplish the website project, which is expected to be operable by early 2000.
To date, most of PWA’s quarterly Adopt-A-Stream workshops have been taught by trained QA/QC coordinators who donate their time. However, PWA is looking for funds to hire a certified Adopt-A-Stream trainer to diminish the burden on volunteers and to sustain the program’s long-term viability.
The donation of services and grants represent many hours of fund-raising efforts undertaken by Steering Committee members. Membership dues represent another source of income for PWA. It has well over one hundred members that pay annual dues according to the following graduated schedule: students - $5.00, persons with fixed incomes - $10.00, individuals and families - $20.00, institutions - $35.00, and businesses - $50.00.
Lessons Learned
The success of PWA can be credited in part to its guiding principles.
Watershed organizations should be community-based in structure and must represent the entire geographic area of concern.
Stakeholders must be involved early in the process with legitimate opportunities to participate in planning in order to obtain the consensus and support needed for future implementation.
Involvement of citizens who live, work, and play in the watershed, support of elected officials charged with managing the watershed, multiple partnerships aligned through specific projects, and intergovernmental coordination are critical to establish an effort that is sustainable and replicable. |
