WATER STEWARSHIP
Water stewardship includes preserving the Nancy Creek flood plain
Blue Heron has an important role in the city to protect urban waterways and wetlands. Water stewardship involves water conservation, water quality monitoring, wetland protection and much more goes into our role as stewards for Atlanta’s water.
Did you know that Blue Heron is a part of the Nancy Creek floodplain? The Woodland Loop often floods from heavy rains!
We built boardwalks at the Emma Wetlands and on the Woodland Loop. When the water raises the boardwalks, they settled back down on concrete sleepers. All project plans at the Preserve are centered around the needs of the natural and native habitat.
Blue Heron partners with Chattahoochee River Keepers to take samples regularly from Nancy Creek and submit them for water quality testing.
This testing program, called Neighborhood Water Watch, looks at bacteria levels, along with other chemicals that may be in the water.
Non-Point Source Pollution
Non-point source pollution is a type of pollution with many different and diffused source points. There is no single source for this type of pollution, but multiple sources that are not always identified.
Sediment from a build site, garbage from city streets, and other pollution makes its way to Blue Heron via Nancy Creek and other waterways. Water washes through the floodplain and brings litter with it.
Blue Heron regularly organizes volunteer work days to handle non-point source pollution. Volunteers pick up garbage and clean the trails to combat pollution. We also have an Adopt-a-Trail program that helps with cleaning up our waterways and the Preserve.
