Gwinnett Commission Chair Elected To Head Water District

ATLANTA, GA — Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash has been elected to head up a a planning district that handles water resources in metro Atlanta.

Nash on Wednesday was elected chair of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District's governing board.

Her election comes at a time that metro Atlanta finds itself in the midst of a cyclical drought and embroiled in ongoing litigation over shared water resources.

"We can be rightfully proud of our region’s track record of water stewardship," said Nash, who joined the Metro Water District’s board in 2011. "We’re using less water today than we were a decade ago, even though our population has grown by more than a million. However, we must keep pushing forward as we strive to better protect and conserve our water resources."

Nash succeeds Dallas Mayor Boyd Austin, who served the maximum two terms as chairman. Citizen member Katie Kirkpatrick was re-elected as vice chair and citizen member Birdel Jackson was re-elected as secretary/treasurer. All three will serve three-year terms.

The Metro Water District, staffed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, was established by the Georgia General Assembly in 2001 and includes 15 counties and 95 cities. The Atlanta region is the only metropolitan area in the country with more than 100 jurisdictions implementing a long-term comprehensive water management program that is required and enforced.

Nash, a lifelong resident of the Dacula-Harbins community in Gwinnett, has served as chair of the Gwinnett County Commission since 2011. Prior to running for office, she was president of a consulting firm specializing in governmental and public strategy and management.

Nash worked for Gwinnett County for more than 27 years until she retired in 2004, serving as county administrator, director of financial services, budget director, and grants manager.

She currently serves as secretary of the Atlanta Regional Commission Board and a member of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. In 2015-16, she served as president of ACCG, Georgia’s county government association.

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District is dedicated to developing comprehensive regional and watershed-specific water resource plans to be implemented by local governments in the 15-county metro Atlanta region.

The region includes Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners