A collection of haiku and poems from Paddle Georgia 2022
Contributor: Paddle Georgia
Stream Name: Chattahoochee River
In June, the Georgia River Network hosted it’s annual Paddle Georgia trip. With the pandemic still in the picture, 35 hearty souls made the weeklong journey down the Chattahoochee instead of the usual 300-400 participants.
These poems are paddlers’ personal reflections of moments in time of the trip in just a few short words.
Some are insightful, some are funny, some are inside jokes that could make no sense at all.
Read through them and reminisce or imagine what it was like on a week long paddle trip.
Contributor: Anne Ledbetter
Stream Name: Poplar Creek
Location: Cobb County, GA
(map)
The EPA has stated that polluted storm water runoff is the main cause of water quality problems. Rain water runoff picks up pollutants like motor oil, pet waste, fertilizer and yard waste and carries them along on to the streams. Non-porous surfaces do not allow the water to gradually sink into the earth and thereby exacerbate runoff issues.
Suburban rain travels down street side gutters into storm drains.
The storm drain (which is different then a sanitary sewer system; see last image for more in depth definition) carries water run-off directly into the nearest body of water.
The image shows a storm drain in use as well as the inside of the drain on a dry day. Notice how the pine straw and other debris can remain stuck in the drain.
Beyond the drain, runoff travels by pipe, conduits or other open channels. The images are pipes on a low rain day versus a heavy rain. Notice how much more power and volume the water has on rainy day.
This increased force of the water can easily pick up bigger pollutants such as cigarette butts and pet waste.
The water rushes into the stream which can damage the stream’s ecosystem not only with pollutants, but the sheer force can damage the plants and animals living in the stream. Forceful run off also changes the course of the stream too. Straightening it out, causing erosion of the banks which sets a pattern for more and more damage.
Here’s how you can help make the community aware of storm drain run off issues. The pamphlet was put out by the Cobb County Ga Water System and also contains a contact where you can learn more and learn how to help
Contributor: Anne Ledbetter
Stream Name: Rottenwood Creek
Location: Cobb County, GA
(map)
Watershed: Chattahoochee River
Stacy Haire and Tim Phillips reached out to Mike Kahle with Cobb County Adopt-A-Stream about an illegal trash dump on Rottenwood Creek. Mike quickly organized a clean-up to prevent further damage as the trash would spread downstream with the next heavy rain.
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