Over the next few decades, Hamilton County’s population is expected to grow by 400,000. The growth calls into question concerns related to housing, land, prices – and water.
What happens when rapid growth impacts groundwater, resulting in widespread flooding when it rains?
What happens when sediment from such development runs into the water, polluting it and affecting the quality of drinking water?
Water quality might not sound like the most exciting of topics, acknowledges Thrive Regional Partnership Director Bridgett Massengill, but it is a vital concern to address as a component of the regional planning initiative’s growth goals. And preserving the watershed as the county’s footprint continues to grow falls to everyone who relies on the water for consumption, activity and more.
Thrive, which is working with the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute and other area organizations on an initiative dubbed The Watershed Moment, has highlighted natural treasures and future areas of concern within its 16-county footprint, spanning Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.