A FOREVER CLEAN AND
SUSTAINABLE CHATTAHOOCHEE
JOIN The Orvis Company, SweetWater Brewing Company, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and River Through Atlanta in a campaign to help protect water quality in the Chattahoochee River!
The Orvis Company of Manchester, Vermont, SweetWater Brewing Company of Atlanta, Georgia, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing guide service River Through Atlanta, are combining their efforts for year two of the “Quality Hooch” campaign. In year one, the campaign raised $10,000 to fund 25 revolutionary water monitoring devices which will allow Chattahoochee Riverkeeper to expand its work in protecting the Chattahoochee River (check out the Quality Hooch film which highlights these efforts). We are excited for year two of this campaign and bringing more attention to this river that is home to one of the top 100 trout streams in the nation!
The kickoff for the 2017 campaign took place on April 29, 2017, at the Orvis Buckhead store and will continue through the year in conjunction with its partners SweetWater Brewing Company and River Through Atlanta. Save the date for the annual Orvis Down the Hatch Film Festival which will take place October 12, 2017 at The Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta, GA.
This year’s fundraising efforts will go toward CRK’s BacteriALERT project. BacteriALERT will take place within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), which receives approximately three million visitors annually (including anglers, kayakers, swimmers and more). The CRNRA encompasses 48 miles of the Chattahoochee River from Lake Sidney Lanier’s Buford Dam to Atlanta; this section runs through the highly urbanized greater metro Atlanta region.
The BacteriALERT program is very popular with Atlanta’s fishing community because it is the only system that provides real-time information about health risks from contact with the water in the park. The program is a public-private partnership between the National Park Service (NPS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK). Through a system of remote water quality sensors and laboratory analyzed samples, the BacteriALERT program issues public advisories to river users during times when E. coli levels exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended values. The continuation of this important program is vital to protecting the public health and safety of the CRNRA visitors, and our regions fishermen.
The Orvis Company, which has two locations in the Metro Atlanta area, has a long history of environmental stewardship dedicating 5% of pre-tax profits each year to conservation. T-shirts and hats will be sold at both Orvis retail locations in Alpharetta and Buckhead, as well as at SweetWater Brewing Company, with all proceeds going toward the Quality Hooch campaign.
For more information on this effort visit the Orvis retail stores or visit chattahoochee.org to find out how you can participate and enjoy one of this year’s events.
Chattahoochee River Basin
Drinking water source for nearly four million people and one of only three rivers in the world that runs through a population of one million or more and supports trout.
