Southeastern Regional Water Quality Assistance Network

The Oconee River and many of its tributaries in Athens, Georgia don't have the water quality necessary to support their designated uses. The SERWQAN team, the Southern Regional Water Program, and Extension Faculty from Land Grant Universities in EPA Region IV partnered to participate in a practicum that focused on developing practices to improve water resource management in these critical drainages.

Click here to download the Athens Case Study (pdf).

Two specific projects were initiated. The first was the installation of a rain garden at a commercial site owned by Terrapin Beer Company in Athens. Read more about the installation under the WORKSHOP tab above. The second was the restoration of Lilly Branch, an impaired stream that flows into the North Oconee River.