MONROE, GA - Thousands of local residents depend on the Alcovy River everyday as they turn on the faucet, fish for largemouth bass, water their crops, or nourish their cattle. Now a group of forward-thinking community leaders has undertaken a regional project aimed at protecting this vital natural resource, and the public is invited to learn more at a meeting set for January 20, 2000.

The Alcovy Watershed Protection Project is a regional effort encompassing 15 jurisdictions in Gwinnett, Walton, Newton, and Jasper Counties to examine the health of the Alcovy River, determine impacts on its health, and design solutions integral to future planning. Coordinated by the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center (NEGRDC), and conducted by the environmental engineering firm of Brown and Caldwell, the project combines sound science with community concerns to craft a plan for the watershed to address state and federal regulations and protect resources through flexible watershed management strategies. The nearly 2-year project will include extensive water quality sampling, data collection, computer modeling, and numerous opportunities for input from the public.

Residents in Gwinnett, Walton, Newton, and Jasper Counties who rely on the Alcovy are encouraged to attend the January 20th meeting to learn more about the project in an open house format at the Monroe

Municipal Auditorium. From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., residents are invited to move between a series of information stations where they may interact one-on-one with project team members who are available to discuss specific topics ranging from regulatory requirements driving the study, to project goals and components, to sampling efforts, to computer modeling. Those residents wishing to participate in a group question/answer period may do so from 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.