City Council - Regular Meeting

So, welcome back to Inside Roswell. I'm Mary Robisho, mayor of Roswell. I'm continuing my conversation with Liberty Gates, environmental educational coordinator. And now though, we're going to talk to shift our focus to water quality and how the city works to protect one of our most important resources as you said. But now I want to shift to something that impacts all of us every day and what you started on water. And so can you talk more about your role that that as it connects to that water conservation and water quality education in Roswell? Yeah, so we have the beautiful Chattahuchi River that runs through Roswell. And in all honesty, if we look at Roswell, Roswell might not be here if we didn't have the Chattahuchi River. It's really at the heart of our history and the heart of our development. It starts in North Georgia a little bit above Helen, runs all the way through our state, goes into Alabama, back into our state a little bit, and then into Florida and eventually the Gulf. All along this river, people are utilizing this water. Also, all the actions people take all along this river impact the health of our

everything.

Yes. Yes. So, um, love Atlanta, but we're a little lucky that we're north of Atlanta and not south of some of the stuff that goes that goes on there. But like I said, all these people are using the river and all their actions they take affect the river. So really with the education piece that I do, whether it's water quality testing or guided hikes or going and looking at the macro invertebrates in the water, which are little buggies that live in in the creeks and rivers that we have around here, all of these things are really just trying to connect people to the water. Um, and let them know that again, our everyday actions can impact this. So that's why it's important to take positive actions, be mindful of what we do when it comes to our water and our watershed as well as be mindful when it comes to our drinking water and conserve water at home and know that again water just our drinking water doesn't come out of come out of thin air. A lot of work goes into getting that water clean and we're utilizing again an important resource.

What are some of the common water issues people don't even realize they have at home that they can address?

Yeah. So fix a leak week. It's a little bit of a tongue twister. I know it is a really important week because um we really harp on leaks in homes. Uh water leaks are a silent issue. A lot of the time you don't know they're happening until you see your water bill or water's coming out of a ceiling or a wall. Um but there's a lot of steps that people can take to prevent that from happening. Um again, leaks are also extremely costly. Um, just the dripping of one faucet can cost you a bunch of gallons of water and a bunch of money and you wouldn't even think so. It's just a drip of one little faucet. So, there's things that people can do in their homes to uh prevent that costly the costly water issues. So, uh fixing leaks in your home. If you see a dripping faucet, fix that. If you see a dripping shower head, fix that. Um, check your toilets to ensure that they're not leaking. Evaluate water in your in your yard if you're uh I see this all the time. I'll be driving through areas and it will be raining and I'll see people's sprinklers on. I'm like, we don't we don't need to be doing that. Um, so evaluating your water usage outside as well, making sure your sprinklers are pointed in the right direction or and are only going on when you need them actually on. Look for pooling water in your yard. These are some signs of of leaking.

So, why is protecting our water supply so important and not just for today, but for the future of Roswell from your perspective?

Because so many people use it. Um, so many animals use it. our our plants use it. Um, I always tell people we are water neighbors because we are in a waterhed. A waterershed is an area of land where all the water drains to a common point. I say if you were to cup your hands like this and I were to pour water on the outside of your hands, it would all trickle down to the center of your hands. That's almost like what a watershed is. We are in the Chattahuchi watershed. So all our actions um whatever we're doing in our yards, whether it's pesticides or herbicides, whether we're putting something down a storm drain, all of that is going to eventually trickle down to our Chattahuchi River, which again we use and all of our water neighbors use. So the people north of us and the people way south of us, and then eventually it goes into the Gulf. So even things that we do up here can actually affect um the creatures and plants and animals and all the things living down there in the Gulf. So it's so important because um again our everyday actions can impact this resource and so many things are relying on this resource um both us right now and then future generations as well. And I um I'm not a mom hope to be one day but I look at all the kids that I work with and I think that I want them to be able to enjoy this beautiful resource like I get to enjoy right now. Um, so I think, you know, if I can take positive action to preserve this resource, preserve our beautiful Chhattahuchi River, I I definitely think we should.

You probably know this better than me, but May includes drinking water week. Yes. So, what is that and why is that something residents should pay attention to?

Yeah. So, drinking water week is an awesome week in May where it really focuses on drinking water, where it comes from, and how we get it from our creeks, rivers, and streams to our homes. So, we post a lot of stuff on social media talking about our drinking water, talking about ways that you can conserve water and uh um the best ways to use water in your home or outside your home that we were just talking about. And then also, drinking water week is so dear to my heart because we have one of my favorite events that week. It is Aqua Palooa, which is going to be May 9th this year. Um Aqua Palooa is a festival that we have at our water plant. It's a basically a water plant openhouse. We have a bunch of community groups there that set up booths. Um, it's very activities, hands-on focused. We have facility tours, games, arts and crafts, even a dunk tank, which our which our water utility staff loves. We have that dunk tank because they are such troopers and they are such a good fun group of people.

As long as the mayor doesn't have to do it.

I did it last year and it wasn't as bad as I thought, but we'll see if I do it again this year. Yeah. But, um, it's an awesome event. just really getting people in touch with uh our water plant here, which is an awesome resource that we have, and then really getting people in touch with their drinking water and why it is so important. Um it is a completely free event. It's great um for families with young kids. Um you can spend an entire day at our water plant having so so much fun. So I'll be there, so everybody is welcome. How does um Household Hazardous Waste Day play into protecting our water and environment? Yeah. So, we have a awesome uh trash disposal, curbside trash disposal and recycling in our city. We also have our awesome recycling center, but there's a lot of items that you can't necessarily dispose of through those methods just cuz we don't take them. Um, so, uh, twice a year, once in May, this year is going to be May 9th, and I don't know the date off the top of my head in November, but it's going to be May and November, we hold a household hazardous waste day at our transfer station where um, Roswell residents can come through and drop off some things that they couldn't dispose of usually in their curbside container or at our recycling center. And some of these things are pills or certain paints and and chemicals. And the reason it's so important to dispose of these ways and what we say environmentally friendly methods is because if you were to just put them in your curbside container, it's going to end up in probably in a landfill and that can actually end up polluting certain waterways that can end up getting into our air. So, uh, disposing of these things in the proper method um really just helps protect our environment, which is why we hold them twice a year because it's a cause close to Roswell's heart. for the the residents that are listening and and want to participate in these events or learn more about them, where do they go to find out information?

Yeah. So, I always recommend Roswell 365, our city event calendar. Um, you can look on there. We always post all our events on there. It has dates, times, locations, all the information one would need. We also post them on our social media as well. But, uh, I always point people to Roswell 365. And in general, if you're looking for you need something to do on a weekend, go to Roswell 365. go find something. If every resident could do just one thing differently after listening today, what would you like that to be?

I would say get involved. Find a way to get involved. Whether that's attend a lecture, um attend a guided hike, one of our events, one of our volunteer service days. Um find a way to take a role in your uh community's environmental stewardship. I think getting involved is really the best way to learn more about your community, find that connection to your community. Um, and then they get to hang out with me and I want to hang out with everybody. So, I've seen you at quite a few different events and also Yeah. So, yeah, I say get involved. Find a way to get involved. We'd love to have you.

So, Liberty, again, thank you for joining me and for sharing your perspective and all of your information and knowledge and for all the work you do to help educate, engage, and inspire our community to care for the environment from the youngest to the oldest. So, that that's amazing. And for our listeners, thank you for spending time with us throughout this Earth Month series. From our tree canopy to recycling to our parks and water quality, we hope these conversations have given you a better understanding of how sustainability shows up right here in Roswell. If you're looking to get involved, there are several upcoming events. Um, I'm not going to Aqua Palooa

that that is a a a mouthful. the household hazardous waste day, the drinking water week. So again, you can find as as we said all of these details and how to participate on roswwell 360.com 365.com, sorry. And as we head into May, we'll be celebrating public works week where we'll continue these conversations and take a closer look at work happening across transportation, storm water, and more. Inside Roswell is all about transparency, trust, and helping you understand your how your city works. Be sure to follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcast, and I hope to see you next time on Inside Roswell.