The Water Council has scheduled a third series of town hall meetings around the state to discuss the statewide water planning effort and to give citizens an opportunity to ask questions and offer comments on this important project. These meetings will focus on integrated policies for water quantity and water quality as well as introduce sub-state planning guidance. The Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan is being developed to help Georgians understand the current demands on water throughout the state and to better manage our water resources in the future. Discussion materials relating to these topics can be found on the Water Council’s website by clicking on the town hall meeting link at www.georgiawatercouncil.org.

The Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Planning Act of 2004 formed the Water Council, which consists of legislators, legislative appointees and state agency heads that have water-related responsibilities. The Act requires that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) develop the Plan, and present it to the Water Council in June 2007. The Plan will be brought before the General Assembly in 2008.

Town Hall meetings will be held:

Saturday, -May 19 – Athens
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Georgia Center for Continuing Education Mahler Auditorium 1197 South Lumpkin Street Athens, GA 30602-3603

Saturday, May 19 – Gainesville
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Gainesville State College Continuing Education Auditorium Continuing Education Building 3820 Mundy Mill Road Oakwood, GA 30566

Monday, May 21 – Rome
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
The Forum 2 Government Plaza Rome, GA 30162

Tuesday, May 22 – Atlanta
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Atlanta Technical College Cleveland L. Dennard Building
1560 Metropolitan Parkway, SW
Atlanta, GA 30310

Wednesday, May 23 – Augusta
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Augusta Technical College Information Technology Center 3200 Augusta Tech Drive Augusta, GA 30906

Thursday, May 24 – Macon
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Macon State College Learning Support Building Auditorium 100 College Station Drive Macon, GA 31206

Tuesday, May 29 – Columbus
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Columbus State University Founders Hall 4225 University Ave
Columbus, GA 31907

Wednesday, May 30 – Albany
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Darton College
Division of Continuing Education & Economic Development
Room J-121-123
2400 Gillionville Road
Albany, GA 31707

Thursday, May 31 – Waycross
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Okefenokee Technical College
Miller Lecture Hall
1701 Carswell Avenue
Waycross, GA 31503

Saturday, June 2 – Savannah
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Armstrong Atlantic State University
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, GA 31401

Saturday, June 2 – Statesboro
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Georgia Southern University
Nessmith – Lane Building
Assembly Hall/Auditorium
Plant Drive
Statesboro, GA 30460

Contact: Sue Levin (404) 656-0719 or Kevin Chambers (404) 651-7970.

Carol A. Couch (pictured) is the Director of the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.  Appointed by Governor Perdue and the Board of Natural Resources in October 2003, Dr. Couch is the first woman to lead EPD in its 35-year history.  As Director, she is responsible for an 850-person agency that implements and enforces 26 state and four federal laws designed to protect, conserve and restore Georgia’s environmental resources.

Dr. Couch chairs the Water Council, a coordinating committee charged with overseeing the development of a comprehensive statewide water plan.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Clean Air Campaign and is on the Board of Trustees of the Livable Communities Coalition.

Before joining EPD, Dr. Couch was a member of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), leading nationally distributed, multi-disciplinary teams of engineers, hydrologists, chemists and biologists in the design, conduct and reporting of water resource investigations.  She also served as Southeastern Regional Biologist in the Southeastern Region, and as Hydrologist in the Georgia District of the USGS Water Resources Division.

Dr. Couch has her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia, as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of South Carolina and the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively.  Her graduate studies focused on the ecology of coastal rivers and estuaries.

She was born in Nuremberg, Germany and settled in Columbus, Georgia upon her father’s retirement from the U.S. Army.  Her love of nature grew from fishing and hunting with her father in Georgia’s beautiful and diverse outdoors.  Dr. Couch is an avid hiker, landscape painter, sometime golfer and is currently writing a series of travel essays.