SOQUE BULLETIN
February 8, 2012
Be the first to see plans for the new County Courthouse
including 3 first of their kind innovative stormwater features!
Like this constructed wetland.
TOUR OF SUSTAINABLE STORMWATER
Saturday, February 11th
10am - 12:30
meet at Old Clarkesville Mill
In 2012, the Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) will once again host four seasonal sustainability tours, each highlighting the unique ways that community partners are working hard to make Habersham County more sustainable. Our quarterly schedule of tours will include:
· WINTER Stormwater Tour on February 11th
· SPRING Farm Tour on April 21st
· SUMMER Water Conservation Tour on July 21st
· FALL Grist Mill Tour on October 20th
The series begins on Saturday, February 11th with a Tour to learn about Sustainable Stormwater and includes visits to three different sites in and around Clarkesville, including the site of the new County Courthouse. Stormwater is basically rainwater that isn’t able to soak into the ground and becomes runoff. Since runoff is the 3rd leading cause of water quality problems alongside bacteria and sediment, this tour will highlight how to transform rainwater into groundwater and prevent it from ever becoming stormwater runoff, very much like nature does.
The first stop of the tour will highlight the County’s plans to incorporate innovative stormwater management practices at the new Courthouse site. Officials from the County and the City of Clarkesville toured sites in Athens back in September, and many of the practices observed such as bioswales and constructed wetlands are now planned for the new courthouse site. The tour will walk the entire pre-construction property and discuss specific features designed to capture and filter stormwater and allow large volumes of water to soak back into the groundwater table.
Once constructed, the County Courthouse will be one of the best demonstrations in the county of a new way of managing water runoff that we can all be proud of, and strive to emulate. The tour will also include stops to look at opportunities for better stormwater practices, and a visit to the Clarkesville Greenway to learn the history of “the wetland that built itself,” which is currently the only constructed wetland in the county (but not for long), and one of the largest in the state.
The tour begins at Old Clarkesville Mill (left side parking lot) at 10am. For more information call 706-754-9382.
Justin Ellis
Executive Director
Soque River Watershed Association
706-754-9382
