ROME, Ga. — The Georgia Water Coalition, a consortium of more than 180 conservation and environmental organizations, hunting and fishing groups, businesses, and faith-based organizations representing more than 300,000 Georgians, last week named the state's “Dirty Dozen” water offenders.

One of the members of the list has a direct effect on the water quality of Weiss Lake.

“This is more than a list,” said Jerry McCollum, president of the Georgia Wildlife Federation and a founding member of the Coalition. “This is a call to action for Georgia's citizens and its leaders.”

Among the offenses on the list were a textile plant blamed for a fish kill earlier this year on the Ogeechee River, a pulp mill along the Savannah River, and sub-minimum flows on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta.

Closer to home, the No. 12 polluter on the organization's list was Plant Hammond, Georgia Power's coal-fired power plant on the Coosa River near Rome, Ga., just a few miles upstream from the shores of Weiss Lake.

According to the Coalition report, Plant Hammond pulls around 590 million gallons a day – almost 65 percent of the river's daily flow – from the Coosa. After being used to cool the steam turbines, the water is returned to the river “at much higher temperatures that degrade water quality.”

The report calls the 1950s-era cooling system still in place at Plant Hammond “outdated” because it requires “massive amounts of water … to cool the plant's operating system.”

“The withdrawal is a double-whammy for Coosa River fish,” the report continues. “The plant's intake structure sucks many fish and their eggs to their death while the warm water discharge deprives surviving fish of oxygen.”

Ultimately, the Coalition believes Georgia Power should be forced to invest in an alternative cooling system that will reduce the amount of water needed for cooling and improve oxygen levels.

The Coalition pointed out in its report that the Coosa is the main source of water for Weiss Lake, which “is the economic calling card for Centre, Alabama and Cherokee County.” Tourism dollars generated by the lake amount to $250 million annual, and the lake is estimated to draw around 450,000 people to the region each year, according to the Coalition. In addition, “… some 4,132 lake-related jobs generate more than $36 million in wages.”

The Dirty Dozen list was compiled by the Coalition after taking nominations from member groups across the state. This is the first such list, and the Coalition has plans to update it annually as problems are addressed and as new problems arise.

www.garivers.org/gawater/dirtydozen.htm.