The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Water Resources will host an interactive event for people in the Conasauga River and Ocoee River watersheds to help them connect, share information, develop relationships and collaborate with others making contributions to water quality.
The event will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, in the Ocoee Whitewater Center.
A variety of organizations, groups and state agencies, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Aquarium, will have exhibits at the event.
“This event will be a chance for people to see how water quality is being protected in the Conasauga and Ocoee River watersheds,” said Tyler Jeffrey, regional director of TDEC’s Chattanooga Field Office. “It will also be an opportunity for people to find out from the people and organizations already contributing to the effort how they too, can be involved with keeping the watershed healthy in the future.”
The Conasauga River and Ocoee River watersheds include Polk and Bradley counties, along with the cities of Cleveland, Ducktown, Benton and Copperhill.
Watersheds are land areas that drain into a particular stream or lake. A healthy watershed is important because these waters supply drinking water, water for agriculture, habitat for plants and animals as well as recreational opportunities like swimming, fishing and boating. The Conasauga River watershed (TN portion) is ~128 square miles and includes parts of Bradley and Polk counties. The Ocoee River Watershed (TN portion) is ~203 square miles and is entirely inside Polk County. Residents from both of these counties share the important responsibility of protecting and improving their water resources in the watersheds, officials said.