Since its inception in 1995, WAWA has partnered with members of the West Atlanta community to protect greenspaces and water quality in West Atlanta, while educating the public about environmental issues that affect their community.
WAWA has GIS (Geographic Information Systems) capability!!
Written by Darryl Haddock
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 08:47
It has been a long time in the making. WAWA now has GIS! In a partnership between the Metro Atlanta Urban Watershed Institute (MAUWI), West Atlanta Mountain Bike Association (WAMBA) and WAWA, there is now a clearinghouse for information that details land use, storm water drainage, tree canopy coverage, impervious surface coverage and other conditions within our communities. The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance has tried for the last 10 years to establish its capacity to produce maps and collect data that help evaluate creek conditions and the land that surrounds and supports these water bodies, our three adopted watersheds.
The technology, called (GIS) Geographic Information Systems. Many watershed and environmental groups have been using this technology to protect the environment including waterways for many years. The information produced by these systems can be used to educate people about activities that cause problems for local water quality and human quality of life.. The maps and data analysis tools can be used to foretell flooding, point source pollution sources and other undesirable activities. With the technology, trends can be examined that would support the creation of greenspace for storm water management, recreation and minimize the impacts from poorly placed homes, businesses and roads. This capability also supports our annual creek cleanups and “Adopt-A-Stream” monitoring programs.
WAWA will use these systems in our efforts to develop sustainable management techniques for the greenspaces we steward; the Outdoor Activity Center, Cascade Springs and Beecher Hills Lionel Hampton preserves. We will also assist residents in local communities who are looking for the tools to evaluate environmental conditions within the Proctor, Sandy and Utoy Creek basins. Much of the data is readily available in government databases, but we wanted a means to pull this information into easily accessible formats: principally maps. We also sought the means to conduct community based inventories which act as snapshots in time, to be used in the assessment process. These inventories point out environmental stressors which negatively impact our communities. We have been conducting a community based assessment in the communities adjacent to Proctor Creek for several years. Proctor Creek still has many problems that limit public access and enjoyment of this local amenity. The Utoy Creek watershed by contrast has far less stressors and we are able to enjoy this creek at the points of access mentioned earlier.
This capability is a wonderful fulfillment of our goal to conserve, protect, restore and facilitate access to our urban natural resources.
It has been a long time in the making. WAWA now has GIS! In a partnership between the Metro Atlanta Urban Watershed Institute (MAUWI), West Atlanta Mountain Bike Association (WAMBA) and WAWA, there is now a clearinghouse for information that details land use, storm water drainage, tree canopy coverage, impervious surface coverage and other conditions within our communities. The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance has tried for the last 10 years to establish its capacity to produce maps and collect data that help evaluate creek conditions and the land that surrounds and supports these water bodies, our three adopted watersheds.