The City of Atlanta today announced that Mayor Kasim Reed signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizing a three-year environmental feasibility study of the Proctor Creek watershed. Mayor Reed was joined by Brigadier General C. David Turner, Commander of the South Atlantic Division of the Corps of Engineers, for the bill signing in the Mayor’s Ceremonial Office at City Hall.

The legislation authorizes $1.5 million in city funds for the study, which will be matched by an additional $1.5 million in Corps of Engineers funds. The study will survey the water quality, overall environmental quality and flood-damage risk reduction of the watershed and result in the best-suited ecosystem restoration projects for Proctor Creek.

“Signing this legislation today is the culmination of years of work to secure funding and support necessary to revitalize one of the neglected natural resources in the City of Atlanta, the Proctor Creek Watershed,” said Mayor Reed. “Proctor Creek was once a source of connection and recreation, but today it is polluted and can’t be enjoyed by residents of the communities it runs through. With this partnership and support of Brigadier General C. David Turner and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the City can take the first, concrete steps to restore nine miles of natural creek and reconnect a community to its waterway.”

Today’s ceremony represents another step in Mayor Reed’s commitment to Proctor Creek. The City of Atlanta is one of 11 communities selected for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Urban Waters Project, a designation that is being used to foster a number of remediation and restoration projects along the creek. Plans include adding 400 acres of new greenspace and a trail that connects the Atlanta BeltLine to the Chattahoochee River. In total, the City will restore nine miles of natural waterway to reduce flooding, create trails for recreation and spur economic development.

“This study is important to Atlanta because it focuses federal expertise and federal funding on the Proctor Creek basin, which has unfortunately experienced environmental degradation and flooding problems for an extended period of time,” said Brigadier General Turner. “It's important to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because it affords us the opportunity to participate in a truly holistic watershed project and to apply innovative approaches to water resources problems affecting this important urban community.”