Water in huntsville (Decatur, Madison, Guntersville: utilities, organic, assessments)

[pattibug]

I love to be around water and just wondering if there is any good size lakes or rivers in or aound huntsville?

[Rick in Dixie]

Directly in Huntsville , we have to municipal parks with large areas of water. and just 15 min south of HSV is the Tennessee River and Ditto Landing. and 25 miles south east of HSV is the bueatiful Lake Guntersville and just back to the north of G,ville is South Saulty lake that feeds into Goose Pond and the trail goes all the way to the nickajack Lake and Dam in Chattanooga TN as well as all of this a turn to the west of HSV and 18 miles away is Decatur where the river feeds a very nice size lake there, but if you like being around water , you want have to go far.

[Charles]

Unrelated to the original post but I didn't want to start a new thread.

Moderator cut: website

"The Water comes from wells which tap underground aquifers and from the Tennessee River. This water is purified in accordance with rules and regulations of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The water quality is closely monitored by our on-site, certified laboratory. The System’s water treatment plants have received the "Best Operated Surface Water Treatment Plant" Award 14 times combined. The ground water supply has received the "Best Operated Ground Water System in Alabama" 9 times since 1981. In 1992, the System received the EPA Safe Drinking Water Excellence Award, where Huntsville was selected over other large water suppliers in EPA Region IV, which includes 8 Southeastern states."

comes from

About Huntsville Utilities

So, is Huntsville water good, or is it bad?

[Reactionary]

The Flint River, on the East side of Madison County (Gurley, Hampton Cove, OXR), is a success story according the the EPA:

Waterbody Improved
Runoff from agricultural activities and urbanization contributed to organic enrichment and dissolved oxygen (DO) impairments in the lower mainstem of the Flint River in Alabama. The implementation of best management practices (BMPs) and stakeholder education and outreach enhanced water quality and helped the Flint River meet the water quality standards associated with its designated water use classifications. As a result, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) expects to remove a 28-mile segment of the Flint River from the state's 2006 303(d) list of impaired waters.

Here's Alabama's 303(d) list of "impaired" waterways. Most recent is 2006, the State must compile the list every two years IAW the Clean Water Act. The State 303(d) list is compiled from detailed 305b assessments.

Note that Huntsville Spring Branch and Indian Creek both contain DDT and HSV Spring Branch contains "Metals (Hg, As)".

Here's the EPA 305(b) database; most recent data is 2004. The reports for the Tennessee River IIRC where the water intakes for the City of Huntsville are located shows the "Water Status" as "Good". The EPA lists the Flint River "Water Status" as "Impaired" (keep in mind this is 2004 data, the 2006 data showed improvement).

As far as drinking water, HSV Utilities says it's good.

As far as the OP's question, lots of recreational water available.

[Charles]

(copied from the photo thread to this more appropriate thread)

Originally Posted by DRvortec

I looked up the "health" in that area. How sad, the water is a 1 (1-100; 1=worst) and the air is a 10 (1-100; 1=worst). I wonder why?

Maybe a nugget or two of information here:

Alabama Water Agenda

News Articles