As they wind through farmland, suburban sprawl and urban congestion, Clarke County's streams face a host of contamination threats from sewage leaks to pesticide sprays. But one of the most harmful forms of pollution is silt runoff, which is caused when the ground is disturbed and loosened soil washes into storm sewers and streams.
The effects of sedimentation are evident after any rainstorm when area creeks and rivers turn orange as mud from decades of runoff is churned up in the water.
Little can be done to remedy past silt damage caused by generations of harmful farming practices and inadequate development rules. What county officials are hoping to do, however, is prevent future runoff from worsening the silt problem.
To this end, a group of environmental experts and government officials is drafting new regulations to help protect Clarke County's streams.
Athens-Clarke commissioners voted last year to ban development within 75 feet of all streams until the Stormwater Advisory Committee could upgrade the county's land-use and water quality rules. Widening the state-mandated 25-foot buffers was intended to give the committee some leeway so it didn't feel rushed. The group could take its time in rewriting the regulations and not worry about further water damage occurring in the meantime.
In the past, we have expressed concern about imposing a blanket 75-foot buffer along every stream in Clarke County. While such a measure was likely to prevent some silt runoff, it did so at the possible expense of many property owners.
A 75-foot stream buffer may have little impact on large rural or suburban tracts, but it could dominate many small, intown lots. Under such conditions, an owner could be prevented from building on a lot or redeveloping an existing property.
We urged the county to consider ways to protect intown landowners from being unduly harmed by changes to the stream buffers which might limit a property's usability and value.
With this in mind, it was encouraging to hear the Stormwater Advisory Committee is looking into dividing the county into different zones with different buffer widths, according to a Sept. 19 article in this paper. An example of this might be to impose a 25-foot buffer in an urban area and a 75-foot buffer along a rural stream. Such an approach balances the need for water protection with a recognition of the inherent differences between some areas of our community.
Until the committee's work is complete, it's impossible to fully assess its recommendations. But, on this issue, the group appears to be on the right track.
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