Kids push city to better protect reservoir

Inviting the council to visit the 300-acre lake, junior Breanna Sommers told the council that: “the appearance of the reservoir does not inspire confidence in our water source.”

The students identified two primary problems — mud bogging and litter — and showed slides to demonstrate the effects of both.

Spencer Ellington pointed out that in visits to the site, students found where drivers had “cut donuts,” caused erosion on the grass road leading to a peninsula, discovered an abundance of trash and found evidence that people illegally swim in the lake.

As for the trash, Ellington said, “There are signs ... No one follows the rules because there is no one to enforce them.”

Ellington said students found beer bottles, syringes and tires during a three-hour trash cleanup March 4.

Sha’nese Anderson presented recommendations “for protecting our watershed.”

Among them were closing of illegal entrances to the site, reducing the areas accessible to vehicles with posts and chains, putting down gravel for the road and parking areas, planting grass and providing regular trash pickup. She proposed treating the area as a park and using SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) money to pay for the work.

The presentation was the result of several weeks of study by two environmental science classes. Approximately 30 students, all juniors, attended the council meeting.

“We appreciate the job you did,” commented Keith Burchett, mayor pro tem.

Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. concurred, telling the students that the city government will consider the recommendations.