Saving the Chattahoochee: The Story of the Women Who Defended the River

Description

For more than twenty years, Sally Bethea was the champion of the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. Back in the early 1990s, hardly anyone wanted anything to do with this urban river downstream from the city. It was notorious for being polluted with sewage spills, litter, and muddy water from all the development in north Atlanta. Starting in 1994, Sally was named Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and took charge. She and her organization sued the City of Atlanta under the Clean Water Act, and with the collaboration of the self-appointed Sewer Mayor, Shirley Franklin, the city invested a whopping $4 billion to upgrade the sewer and water system. Sally and Shirley weren’t the only ones fighting for the river. In the 1970s, members of the Junior League led by Kay McKenzie started Friends of the River. This documentary (35 min.) takes a more personal look at Sally, one of the first women riverkeepers in the U.S. It’s about how she stepped up to become the face of the river at a pivotal moment in Atlanta’s development, while also being a single parent to two sons. How she teamed up with Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, the first Black female mayor of a major southern city, to change the course of the river’s future.