W3 Seminar – The Georgia Flow Incentive Trust (GA-FIT): Securing Southwest Georgia’s water future

Details

Speaker:
Mark Masters, Executive Director, Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center, Albany State University

Abstract:
In Southwest Georgia, the Flint River Basin and the region’s aquifers sustain unique natural systems and a robust agricultural economy. However, in some years, drought has caused water scarcity, reducing stream flows and aquifer storage, and created threatening conditions for the farm economy as well as the region’s rare aquatic species. During recent droughts, flows in the Flint River Basin have dropped to low levels and threatened the availability of water for aquatic habitat and other users. The Georgia Flow Incentive Trust (GA-FIT) is a project that seeks to restore flows for aquatic habitats while addressing water security for farmers in the region. GA-FIT is developing new deep aquifer wells to provide alternative water supplies during drought for irrigators that rely on surface water supplies. It is also improving flow augmentation capacity near assemblages of rare freshwater mussels. The project also developed a Habitat Conservation Plan for endangered and threatened freshwater mussels in the region. The project includes a strong stakeholder engagement component to guide implementation. GA-FIT is funded by the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and a grant from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget via allocations established from the American Recovery Plan Act for infrastructure development. This presentation will describe how research, data collection, and stakeholder engagement in research and planning have provided the foundation and stimulus for GA-FIT. It will explain how projects such as the USDA-funded Floridan Aquifer Collaborative Engagement for Sustainability (FACETS) have provided actionable findings and engaged regional stakeholders in collaborative efforts to improve flows and drought response in the region.