Coosa River Basin
Mission
Statement:To restore and protect water quality and the aquatic ecosystem of the Coosa River Basin to meet the Clean Water Act goals through a basin-wide public/private partnership.
The Watershed at a Glance
- Originates at the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers in Rome, Georgia, also draining a small portion of southeast Tennessee.
- Enters Alabama about ten miles northeast of Cedar Bluff, Alabama (Cherokee County), flowing approximately 250 miles before joining the Tallapoosa River north of Montgomery to form the Alabama River.
- Drains 10,266 square miles, with 5,407 square miles being within the State of Alabama.
- Drains portions of 13 Alabama counties.
- One of 10 river systems in Alabama that drains to the Mobile River and then into the Gulf of Mexico.
- Major impoundments (all supporting Alabama Power hydroelectric facilities): Weiss, Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Lay, Mitchell, Jordan.
- Major Land Uses – Forestry, agriculture/pasture, urban.
- The largest and most biologically diverse subwatershed of the Mobile River Basin in terms of the overall number of fishes, mussels, and aquatic snails.
