Master Water Control Manual Update Environmental Impact Statement for the Alabama – Coosa – Tallapoosa River Basin
The Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin
Overview
The ACT Basin provides water resources for multiple purposes from just north of the Tennessee-Georgia border, extending into central north Georgia, crossing the Georgia-Alabama state line into north Alabama, continuing across central and south Alabama before terminating in Mobile Bay. The basin covers 32 counties in Alabama, 18 counties in Georgia, and 2 counties in Tennessee. The basin drains 22,800 square miles, extending approximately 320 miles.
There are three main rivers in the ACT basin: the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa rivers. The Coosa and Tallapoosa join to form the Alabama River about two-thirds of the way downstream in the basin. The Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers have numerous smaller tributary rivers.
Eighteen dams are in the ACT basin, which form 16 major reservoirs (Jordan and Bouldin share a common reservoir and Carters Dam and Carters Reregulation Dam function as a single system). Six dams are federally owned by the Corps and 12 are privately owned projects. Of the 18 dams, 2 are on the Coosawattee River, 1 on the Etowah River, 7 on the Coosa River, 4 on the Tallapoosa River, 1 on the Cahaba River, and 3 on the Alabama River.
Water Control Manuals are required for four of Alabama Power Company's projects that have flood control. On June 28, 1954, the 83rd Congress, second session, enacted Public Law 436, which suspended the authorization under the River and Harbor Act of March 2, 1945, insofar as it concerned federal development of the Coosa River for the development of electric power, to permit development by private interests under a license to be issued by the Federal Power Commission (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). The law stipulates that the license must require the provision of flood control storage and further states that the projects will be operated for flood control and navigation in accordance with reasonable rules and regulations of the Secretary of the Army. Thus, the water control manual requirement for the four dams Weiss, Neely H. Henry, Logan Martin, and Harris.
The nine projects and their key characteristics are listed in the Table linked here.