The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of numerous property owners who provided access to sampling locations on their land. We also wish to acknowledge the numerous organizations and individuals who have helped distribute our publications to the interested public. Appreciation also is extended to the following personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey: James B. McConnell for his tireless efforts to provide technical review of many of the NAWQA reports; Maurice D. Winner for his thoughtful reviews and approval of untried report products; and finally Caryl J. Wipperfurth, and Carolyn A. Casteel of the Georgia District publications unit for their timeliness and attention to quality. Photographs without credit listed were taken by one of the report authors. • Front Cover-Photograph of downtown, Atlanta, Ga., March 30, 1997, reprinted from Georgia Aerial Surveys, Inc., and published with permission. • Back Cover-Photographs of Horse Trough Falls in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River (photograph by Alan M. Cressler, USGS); Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River, built in 1904 to power trolley cars in downtown Atlanta; and the Apalachicola Bay Estuary, located at the mouth of the ACF River Basin-the bay is prized for commercial fishing and oyster and shrimp harvesting. From its headwaters on the forested slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Chattahoochee River begins its course toward the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, the river flows through poultry production areas of northern Georgia, the growing metropolis of Atlanta, and numerous reservoirs surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands of Georgia and Alabama. The Flint River begins beneath the runways of Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, but is quickly surrounded by rolling forests and farmlands, as well. Where Georgia, Alabama, and Florida meet, the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers join to form the Apalachicola River. The Apalachicola River finishes the journey to the Gulf of Mexico winding its way through large expanses of coastal forests of the Florida Panhandle. The seemingly untouched headwaters and mouth of this river system give few hints to its role as a vital source of water for drinking, generating power, recreation, assimilating wastes, irrigating crops, transportation, and producing seafood. The action is in between.

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The quality of the Nation's water resources is of great interest because it is so integrally linked to the long-term availability of water that is clean and safe for drinking and recreation and that is suitable for industry, irrigation, and habitat for fish and wildlife. Recognizing the need for long-term, nationwide assessments of water resources, the U.S. Congress has appropriated funds since 1991 for the USGS to conduct the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Scientists in the NAWQA Program work with partners in government, research, and public interest groups to assess the spatial extent of water-quality conditions, how water quality changes with time, and how human activities and natural factors affect water quality. This information is useful for guiding water-management and protection strategies, research, and monitoring in different hydrologic and land-use settings across the Nation.The Lower Tennessee River Basin is one of 51 water-quality assessments initiated since 1991. Together, the 51 major river basins and aquifer systems, referred to as "Study Units," include water resources used by more than 60 percent of the population in watersheds that cover about half of the land areas of the conterminous United States. Timing of the assessments varies because of the Program's rotational design, in which one-third of all Study Units are intensively investigated for 3 to 4 years, with trends assessed every 10 years. As indicated on the map, the Lower Tennessee River Basin is part of the third set of intensive investigations, which began in 1997.

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88).Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).

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