Clean 13 report recognizes ASU’s Mark Masters

ALBANY — The Georgia Water Coalition announced its inaugural Clean 13 report Wednesday, acknowledging the efforts of “water heroes” around the state whose works the coalition deemed “extraordinary efforts” have led to cleaner water in Georgia. Albany State University’s Mark Masters made the list.

According to coalition officials, a water hero is an individual, business, industry, nonprofit organization, or state and local government whose efforts of conservation, pollution control, water management and other factors contribute significantly to improving Georgia’s waterways.

“Around the state, businesses and communities are making a difference for cleaner water,” Georgia Water Coalition member Joe Cook said in a news release. “These may seem like small projects, affecting just an isolated area, but together they add up to big improvements for our water and communities.”

Thirteen water heroes across the state were recognized in the report, one of which was Masters, who is the director of the Water Planning and Policy Center at ASU.

According to GWC officials, Masters “played a key role in developing the consensus-driven Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Stakeholders’ Sustainable Water Management Plan for managing the river system to meet the needs of all water users along the river system in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.”

Masters provided data and facts that will shape water policy, coalition officials said.

“The fact remains that you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Cook, a farmer and chair of the Flint Regional Water Council, said. “Mark and the team from the Water Policy Center are a trusted resource for those of us in agriculture, and their support was critical in completing our first two water management plans.”

Masters was unavailable for comment Wednesday.