Pond Fork Creek Allen Creek Walnut Creek Mulberry River Middle Oconee River North Oconee River WATER QUALITY IN THE HEADWATERS OF THE UPPER OCONEE WATERSHED Dwight S. Fisher', Anthony L. Dillard 2 , E. Lynn Usery3 , Jean L. Steiner 4 and Constance L. Neely 5 AUTHORS: 'Rangeland Scientist, ' - Agricultural Engineer, and 'Soil Scientist, J. Phil Campbell, Sr., Natural Resource Conservation Center, 1420 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677-2373; 'Associate Professor, Geography Department, 204 GGS, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2502; and 'Assistant Project Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program, 1422 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677-2373. REFERENCE: Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held March 26 - 27, 2001, at the University of Georgia. Kathryn J. Hatcher, editor, Institute of Ecology, the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Abstract. Development in the Southern Piedmont of the USA is increasing urban demand for clean water for recreation and municipal supplies. Agricultural production is perceived to be a non-point source of pollution in this region. To effectively target efforts to reduce agricultural pollution, we are working to estimate the impact of conservation practices and to develop water-sampling strategies for identifying key areas for conservation efforts. Nine sites were selected for sampling surface water quality in the headwaters area of the Upper Oconee Watershed of Georgia. Significant variation in water quality was observed among the 9 sites. In some cases, high levels of N and P may have been the result of holding ponds associated with agricultural processing or confined animal operations located adjacent to the water body and near the sample sites. Dilution of upstream impacts was apparent at downstream sites particularly with the samples representing the Middle Oconee River. INTRODUCTION Urban development in traditionally agricultural regions of the southeastern United States has increased the demand for surface water to supply domestic and recreational needs. In addition to protecting natural resources, the movement of pollutants from agricultural lands must be controlled to minimize agricultural-urban conflicts. The Upper Oconee Watershed of northeast Georgia is 760,000 ha (2,900 miles 2 ) in a mix of residential, industrial, forest, and agricultural lands. In the northern portion of the watershed are the headwaters of the North Oconee River, the Middle Oconee River, and the Mulberry River. These rivers are used for municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes and eventually join to form the Oconee River and flow into Lake Oconee (Fisher et al, 2000). Lake Oconee is used for recreation and power generation. The largest municipality supported by this watershed is the city of Athens. Our objectives were to focus on the northern portion of the watershed (Figure 1) and 1) test for significant variation in water quality and 2) relate the observed water quality to variation in land use and the use of conservation practices. METHODS We selected nine sites to represent a contributing area extending north from Winder, west from Arcade and Maysville, and southeast of Blackshear Place, Chicopee, and Gainesville (100,530 ha or 388 miles 2 ). The contributing areas of the sample sites furthest upstream ranged from 4,522 ha (17 miles 2 ) to 11,586 ha (45 miles2 ) (Table 1). Data are reported for the period from October 1999 to October 2000. Drought impacted these samples and consequently the - observed concentrations of nutrients are more representative of base flow and have relatively little impact from surface runoff events. Figure 1. Location of nine sampling points, sub- watershed boundaries, and waterways in the northern portion of the Upper Oconee Watershed of Georgia. 198