The Oconee River passes through the Oconee National Forest into Lake Oconee, a man made lake, near the towns of Madison and Greensboro off Interstate 20. From Lake Oconee, the river travels to Lake Sinclair, another manmade lake in Milledgeville, the town founded on Georgia's Fall Line and former state capital. South of Milledgeville, the river flows unobstructed and later merges with the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River. Along the river there are many sandbars and oxbow lakes while the forest bottomland swamp surrounding the Oconee extends for miles, creating a very remote setting.
Name origin
The river's name derives from the Oconee, a Muskogean people of central Georgia. The Oconee lived in present-day Baldwin County, Georgia at a settlement known as Oconee Old Town, later moving to the Chattahoochee River in the early 18th century. The name exists in several variations, including Ocone, Oconi, Ocony, and Ekwoni.
One of the main sources of pollution comes from fecal coliform bacteria, several species of bacteria found in human and animal feces. Fecal coliform bacteria enter the river through a number of sources; stormwater runoff leaving farmlands, stormwater runoff carrying pet waste, leaking septic and sewer lines contaminating surface or groundwater, and sewer spills throughout the watershed. Fecal coliform bacteria can be deadly to humans if ingested or acquired through an open wound. Fish caught in the Oconee Basin may be eaten if cooked thoroughly.
Fertilizer runoff
The second biggest form of pollution in the river is fertilizer. Nitrogen in fertilizer in the form of nitrates or ammonia, measured in parts per million, is found in regularly collected samples. These forms of nitrogen stimulate abundant growth of algae in the water. The effect is twofold:
The water becomes murkier from the algae growing in it. This inhibits sunlight's path to the bottom of the river and destroys naturally occurring plant life at the bottom of the ecosystem.
The algae eventually die and rot in the water; as they decompose, they pull oxygen out of the water, killing fish, especially large ones. This affects other wildlife, including birds, dependent on the fish and the river for survival.
Sedimentation
The third largest source of pollution is sedimentation, typically caused by construction and urbanization. Loose soil washes away with rainwater, clouding the river and eventually settling to the bottom at a faster rate than the river can naturally carry it away. This reduces clarity in the same way as the algal growth. In addition, the buildup of the bottom reduces the depth of the water, affecting flow and raising the temperature of the river, stressing the ecosystem.