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Medlock Bridge site description
 
USGS station description:
  • Chattahoochee River at Norcross, Ga.
  • USGS site ID: 02335000
  • Latitude 34 degrees,00 minutes, 02 seconds, longitude 84 degrees,19 minutes, 52 seconds, river mile 330.8
  • Drainage area: 1,170 mi2
Go to real-time info for this station (opens a new window). Real-time USGS river flow and stage (river height)
information are available for this site.
 
Sampling location:
The Medlock Bridge site is the northernmost site in this project, where bacteria samples are being collected by the National Park Service. The sampling site is USGS station 02335000, Chattahoochee River at Norcross, which is at Medlock Bridge Road, a large four-lane divided highway. The left picture shows the USGS monitoring equipment on the downstream side of the bridge. The right picture shows the surrounding area on the other side of the bridge.
Picture of the west side of the Medlock Bridge bridge. Picture of the east side of the Medlock Bridge bridge.
 
Use of the river:
Use of the Chattahoochee River at the Medlock Bridge site is less intense than at the Paces Ferry site. Fishing is one popular activity, and boaters (left picture) are often seen. Birds (right picture) and other wildlife frequent this site. The lack of shoals and trails at Medlock Bridge mean that people don't visit the site as much as at other locations along the river. But, just a little ways downstream is the National Park Service's Jone's Bridge Unit, which is very heavily used by picnickers, waders, hikers, and dog-walkers.
Use of the river: picture of a boater. Use of the river: picture of a duck in the river.
 
Surrounding area:
The immediate area consists of suburban residential and large highways, such as Hwy 141, shown in the left picture. There is a lot of growth occuring along the highway, and much of the land will see commercial and office developments occur in the coming years. Since the immediate area does not consist of public parks and land reserves, such as at the National Park Service units further downstream, more of the land consists of nonpermeable cover, such as roads, parking lots, and houses.

The right picture shows a storm sewer outfall pipe, which is located next to the bridge on the upstream side. Although storm water off of the adjacent land mainly runs into the river along the banks, the sewer is a point-source location for direct runoff for debris, oils, and other matter from Hwy 141. Runoff from roads is a concern, as it can detrimentally affect water quality, which is a special concern for a highly-used river such as the Chattahoochee.

Picture looking south from the Medlock Bridge sampling site. Four-lane road. Picture showing the outfall point of a ronoff pipe that drains the four-lane highway above it.
 
Information about the Paces Ferry site Find out about the Paces Ferry sampling site

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This URL: http://nts4dgaatl.er.usgs.gov:80/bacteria/sitemedlock.cfm
Last updated: 05/22/2002 09:01:14 AM

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