View source for Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin

{{Water Feature
|Type=watershed or basin
|isabasin=yes
|Basin Area=51281
|Basin Population=2640000
|Riparian Basin={{Riparian in Basin|Georgia (U.S.)|||||Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin}}{{Riparian in Basin|Alabama|||||Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin}}{{Riparian in Basin|Florida|||||Apalachicola- Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin}}
|Located in Riparian=
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|Data References=<ref>Richter,  Brian D., Mathews, R H, Harrison, D. L. and Wigington, R. (February 2003) ''Ecologically Sustainable Water Management: Managing River Flows For Ecological Integrity''  Ecological Applications volume 13 issue 1  pages  206–224. Available online: http://web.archive.org/web/20061214110920/http://www.nature.org/summit/files/eswm.pdf last accessed: Feb 28 2013</ref>
<ref>USGS. The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program study Available online: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/publications/environ.html</ref>
|Overview=The ACF basin lies in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and contains three smaller basins (the Apalachicola River, the Chattahoochee River &  Flint River basins) and five major aquifer systems.

Water management in the ACF has long been a highly contentious issue. Conflict over water in the ACF is largely driven by three competing demands: water for urban and industrial uses (water quantity, assets, and governance) in upstream Atlanta, agricultural water needs (water quantity and assets) in southern Georgia, and water for ecological and fisheries needs (ecosystems, water quantity, water quality) in Florida’s Apalachicola Bay.
|Description===Geography==
The ACF basin lies in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and contains three smaller basins (the Apalachicola River, the Chattahoochee River &  Flint River basins) and five major aquifer systems. <ref name="Couch">Couch, C. A.; Hopkins, E. H.; and Hardy, P. S. (1996) Influences of environmental settings on aquatic ecosystems in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report: 95-4278. (available online:http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/1995/4278/report.pdf)</ref>

The Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers flow south to converge at Lake Seminole, and from there the Apalachicola River flows to Apalachicola Bay. 

[[File:Apalachicola watershed.png|400px|ACF Basin, courtesy Wikimedia Commons]]

==Water Use==

Surface water (86% of basin usage) is used mostly for power generation, public water supply (including domestic, industrial, and commercial use), self-supplied for commercial or industrial use, and agricultural use.<ref name="Couch"/>

Groundwater (14% of basin usage) is primarily used for irrigated agriculture, and then public supply. A smaller portion of groundwater is used for self-supplied domestic or commericial-industrial use. <ref name="Couch"/>

[[File:ACF-total-withdrawal-pie-chart.png|center|frame|Water Use in the ACF Basin<ref name="Couch"/>‎]]
|External Links={{External Link
|Link Text=ACF Data Portal at the National Integrated Drought Information System
|Link Address=http://nidis1.ncdc.noaa.gov/portal/server.pt/community/acfrb/
|Link Description=[http://nidis1.ncdc.noaa.gov/ The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) website ] connects to the [http://www.drought.gov U.S. Drought Portal] with drought related maps and data products for U.S. water resources.
}}{{External Link
|Link Text=USACE Mobile District Water Management Section
|Link Address=http://water.sam.usace.army.mil/acfframe.htm
|Link Description=Current and historical inflow/outflow data, and lake level forecasts for Lanier, Westpoint, George, Woodruff, Blountstown, and Buford.
}}
|Case Review={{Case Review Boxes
|Empty Section=No
|Clean Up Required=No
|Expand Section=Yes
|Add References=No
|Wikify=No
|connect to www=No
|Out of Date=No
|Disputed=No
|MPOV=No
|ForceDiv=yes
}}
|Length=
}}