In the new series From Harm to Healing, Capital B is putting a spotlight on how pollution and environmental dangers are threatening Black communities, and the people who are working to fight back against these threats to health.

In 2010, DeKalb County officials actively discouraged residents from getting too close to the South River. Signs were posted by the water that said the following in big, bold letters: 

“For your safety, access to water is prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted.”

For decades, the South River was steeped in pollutants as it carried the burden of Atlanta’s and DeKalb County’s sewage system failures. As a result, few people throughout the community saw it as a destination or a place worth protecting.

But Jacqueline Echols, president of the South River Watershed Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to the protection of the South River, saw something else.

“We weren’t going to wait around for someone to fix it,” Echols told Capital B Atlanta. “We had to build power by getting people on the river.”

Jacqueline Echols has spent years advocating for stronger protections and cleanup efforts along the South River. (ELEY Photo)

That strategy of transforming the river into a place of recreation has drastically changed the public’s relationship to the waterway; it’s also helped bolster the river’s environmental protections. Under Echols’ leadership, SRWA has inspired thousands of residents to enjoy the river over the years and ultimately proved to the state that the South River needs stronger water quality requirements. 

Echols said that not only will a cleaner South River benefit those who want to enjoy kayaking or tubing there, but it will also benefit the river’s ecosystem. Pollution can negatively impact wildlife living in the water or around the riverbanks. If wildlife is harmed or killed by pollution, the entire ecosystem can be thrown off balance.

The South River, which winds for 60 miles through Atlanta and down to Jackson Lake, is connected to both Atlanta’s and DeKalb County’s sewer system. Stretches of the river that run through Atlanta and DeKalb County, which are seated in predominantly Black communities, experience sewer overflows because of the systems’ outdated infrastructure. 

“We weren’t going to wait around for someone to fix it.”

Jacqueline Echols, president of the South River Watershed Alliance

Due to this pollution, the South River was designated as one of Georgia’s most endangered rivers in 2021.

“There was no urgency to protect it because nobody was using it,” said Echols. “And if the public isn’t interacting with a body of water, the state doesn’t classify it in a way that requires high water quality.”

In 2010, signs posted along the South River by DeKalb County officials warned people about entering the river. (Courtesy of Jacqueline Echols)

In Georgia, a river’s “designated use” — whether it’s for fishing, recreation, or something else — determines the legal standard it must meet for water quality. Without a recreational designation, the South River had little standing when it came to dictating higher water quality standards. 

So Echols and SRWA set out to get people into kayaks.

In 2016, they launched Beyond the Bridge, a program designed to build a community of paddlers on the South River. Starting with just a few boats and volunteers, the program has since brought thousands of people to the water over the past nine years.

Echols said that after taking groups of people down the river for kayaking, county officials pushed back on her efforts. Undaunted, she said they had no legal basis to prevent residents from using a public waterway.

“They could have blocked off Panola Shoals and said, ‘Well, you can’t enter the river here,’ but we would have found somewhere else to go in,” said Echols.

As participation grew, so did community ownership of the river. Many of those showing up to paddle were Black residents who had never been kayaking or never experienced their neighborhood waterway.

“The South River had been cut off from the community,” said Echols. “Recreationalizing it helped reconnect people not just to the river, but to the nature in their own backyard.”

On top of offering guided paddle trips, the organization began hosting river cleanups and organizing public events. It also established a partnership with Georgia State University for students to help conduct weekly water quality testing, which helps track pollution levels. 

The South River Watershed Alliance launched a paddling and canoeing program called Beyond the Bridge to draw community attention to the South River. (ELEY Photo)

Another major component of Echols’ work to get people interested in the river has been mapping out and advertising the South River Water Trail, a system of public trailheads along the river. 

In 2024, SRWA received a key grant from the Atlanta Regional Commission and American Rivers to expand the trail further into Atlanta.

“This was about more than recreation,” said Echols. “It was about visibility, community investment, and forcing the government to recognize the river’s value.”

All of Echols’ work culminated in a major milestone: At the end of 2024, the state officially designated all 40 navigable miles of the South River for recreational use.

That designation legally increases the water quality standards that the river must meet, giving the community more leverage to demand clean water and to hold DeKalb County and Atlanta accountable for future spills or violations.

Echols was able to make this happen through the state’s Triennial Review process, where  Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division is required every three years to evaluate the designated use of bodies of water throughout the state. 

As part of their application, Echols and SWRA provided the data they’d collected over the years on the number of people using the river for paddling and trail walking. 

As the public’s relationship with the river changed, so did the county’s. No more signs scaring people away from entering the water are posted along the riverbanks. 

Pollution continues to be a problem for waterways across the state, but communities and nonprofits are working to protect Georgia’s rivers through recreation just like Echols and SRWA. The Georgia River Network, a nonprofit organization working to protect and connect people to the state’s rivers, nominated nine different rivers across the state for recreational use for the 2019 Triennial Review process, and all were approved by Georgia EPD.  

Jacqueline Echols says DeKalb County’s and the city of Atlanta’s sewer systems are responsible for much of the problems confronting the South River. (ELEY Photo)

The Altamaha River, which runs from Atlanta and Athens to Darien, is polluted by about 60 miles of discharge from the Jesup pulp mill. This river was one of the nine nominated by the Georgia River Network for recreational use. The Altamaha Riverkeeper continues to promote the recreation of the river as it continues to face pollution hazards. 

And while Echols and SWRA highlight these changes in designated use as progress and success, much of the onus still falls on them to keep pollution in check. 

Georgia EPD does not have the ability to monitor every pollution event, and so much of the burden falls on local organizations and everyday people to report violations, test water, and push for accountability. And although the South River has made strides, recreationalizing a body of water takes money, time, and sustained advocacy.

But Echols believes the South River offers a powerful lesson: Community recreation is a path to environmental justice.

“You can’t separate the fight for clean water from access to that water,” said Echols. “Once people are on the river, they become its defenders.”

And now, thanks to her vision and determination, the South River finally has both defenders and a new future.

Alyssa Johnson is Capital B Atlanta's enterprise reporter.