Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

There’s no cooler way to spend the summer than with the water science professionals at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper! 😎 CRK invites rising 9th-12th grade students who are passionate about the environment to apply for the Water Warriors on Summer Break program now through May 1st. From May to July, six students will get hands-on experience working alongside CRK program staff to patrol the river, monitor water quality, clean out trash traps, and more! Apply online today at https://lnkd.in/eSfv73ry.

Drumroll please… 🥁 Our Sweep the Hooch totals are in, and it was another record-breaking year! Last Saturday, 1500+ volunteers gathered at 64 parks, creeks, and river access points throughout the watershed for our 15th Annual Sweep the Hooch cleanup. Together, we removed 41 TONS of trash from the watershed! That’s 82,000 pounds, or the weight of around 7 elephants. 😲 It’s the most trash we’ve ever removed in a single day. Of that, we recycled 4.65 tons. Sweep the Hooch gets bigger and more impactful every year, and it’s all because of YOUR support. Thank you to all the volunteers, team leads, site hosts, partners, sponsors, and donors for your commitment to clean, trash-free waterways. Go to sweepthehooch.org to enjoy more photos from this incredible day! 🗓️ Save the date! Sweep the Hooch will return on March 21, 2026. We hope to see you before then at one of our upcoming monthly cleanups! Visit chattahoochee.org/cleanups to learn more and get involved.

Meet Bailey Cuttle! ✨ Bailey joined our team this month as our new Headwaters Development Specialist. She’s a Georgia native with roots on the Chattahoochee River and Lake Lanier. She’s excited to work in our Gainesville office organizing cleanups and outings, managing volunteers, fundraising, and connecting with you all at community events! Make sure to say hi to Bailey next time you visit our Gainesville office 👋

As we await the total amount of trash removed by volunteers at our 15th Annual Sweep the Hooch, we want to recognize this year’s incredible sponsors and partners! It wouldn’t be possible to pull off a multi-site cleanup of this magnitude without their support. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper extends our sincere thanks to these great businesses, organizations, and teams for making a commitment to clean, trash-free waterways! 💧

If you spend time on the Hooch, you’ve probably relied on BacteriAlert to plan your outings. BacteriAlert is a one of a kind, real-time bacteria monitoring program operated as a partnership between Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, USGS, and the National Park Service. We've been collecting data from the Chattahoochee River together for 25 years. Now, the federal government has moved to terminate the lease for the USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center in Norcross, Georgia. The closure of this USGS office would immediately threaten the BacteriAlert program and endanger public health within the Chattahoochee River Basin. CRK has sent a letter to Georgia lawmakers urging them to request reconsideration of the decision. ‼️ TAKE ACTION: Tell your legislators how losing USGS programs like BacteriAlert would impact you and your community. View our fact sheet and find your legislators here: https://bit.ly/4hLJYos

The weather was perfect, flows were low and spirits were high at our 15th Annual Sweep the Hooch on Saturday! We’re busy calculating the amount of trash removed, so please stay tuned for the final total. We'd like to extend a big, river-sized THANK YOU to all the volunteers, team leads, site hosts, sponsors, and supporters for an amazing day! Together, we're working towards our goal of a Trash-Free Chattahoochee. Enjoy more photos from the day at sweepthehooch.org. #sweepthehooch #trashfreechattahoochee Photos by: Joanne Vandewater, Lindsay Barnes, Wei Lin, Nicole Marchant

"Nature in her green, tranquil woods heals and soothes all afflictions." – John Muir.🌿 Happy first day of spring! 🌿 📷: Caitlyn Carr

Did you know that household leaks waste nearly 1 trillion gallons of water every year? 💧 Save money and conserve water by finding and fixing leaks during EPA’s annual Fix a Leak Week! Check out the WaterSense guide to easily catch running toilets, stop dripping faucets, and more: https://lnkd.in/g-CFR2k

As the EPA, National Park Service, and United States Geological Survey (USGS) face drastic cuts to staffing, we are deeply troubled by the long-term negative impacts this could have on the Chattahoochee River and its communities. Without adequate resources, we will lose critical partners and information, and polluters will have one less barrier to get away with breaking the law. We urge our members and friends to show your support for these federal agencies and the people who have dedicated their lives to clean water and public service.

The unprecedented growth of the data center industry is testing Georgia’s water and energy supplies, particularly for communities that depend on the Chattahoochee River. Read more in the Atlanta Business Chronicle: https://bit.ly/41HN3zH