Fearing that

water quality in Line Creek is getting worse, environmental activists

are seeking an independent review of tests and studies that have been

performed on the water for the past few years.

Dennis Chase

of the Line Creek Association recently made a presentation about deteriorating

water quality in Line Creek. One clue that the quality of the water is

deteriorating is the shrinking number of organisms found living in the

water, he said. The population of a particular type of mussel has shrunk

dramatically, he explained.

For example,

in samples Chase took in September, he found 678 specimens at Line Creek

near Ga. Highway 54. Further down the line, at Rockaway Road, he found

only 126 specimens.

"It's

a very significant change between two habitats," Chase said.

Chase warned

that two future projects could potentially worsen Line Creek's water quality:

The county

water system's construction of Lake McIntosh as a water reservoir.

Peachtree

City increasing the amount of treated sewage it discharges into the creek

to 6 million gallons per day.

The reservoir

would limit the amount of water flowing to the part of Line Creek where

the sewage plant discharges, making the discharge less diluted with normal

water, Chase said. And increasing the sewage discharge by over 1 million

gallons will further damage water quality, he added.

A plea to Peachtree

City Mayor Bob Lenox to fund $800 to $1,200 to hire an out-of-state expert

to review tests and studies on Line Creek was rebuffed, Chase said. Chase

had also indicated the association's willingness to stick by the results

of that study, whatever they were.

Partially,

the reason for Lenox turning the plan down is because a federal grant

is being pursued to study the same items in Peachtree City, Chase noted.

But that study

could come in too late, he warned. So Chase presented a few suggestions

to members of the Line Creek Association. One is to pay for the study

through LCA funds, which has the drawback of giving the appearance that

the results will be slanted, Chase said.

Another suggestion

was to raise the funds from people in the community to fund the review

of the documents. Chase also wants to alert federal agencies about the

issue, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chase added

that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is too understaffed

to study these issues thoroughly before issuing the appropriate permits.

Yet another

alternative, yet less viable to Chase, was the possibility of filing a

lawsuit. Chase said he would poll the members of the association to determine

which avenue to take first.

The expansion

of the daily sewer system discharge could simply be a move to acquire

the last remaining amount of discharge that's left on Line Creek, Chase

said, admitting that his views might be "harsh."

Judging water

quality can also be subjective, Chase warned, explaining that he judges

it partially by the biology of the water. Chase also warned anyone against

fishing, or wading in, Line Creek.