TheApalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (theACF River Basin) is thedrainage basin, or watershed, of theApalachicola River,Chattahoochee River, andFlint River, in theSoutheastern United States.

This area is alternatively known as simply theApalachicola Basin and is listed by theUnited States Geological Survey as basinHUC 031300, as well as sub-region HUC 0313. It is located in theSouth Atlantic-Gulf Water Resource Region, which is listed as HUC 03. The basin is further sub-divided into 14 sub-basins.

The ACF River Basin begins inthe mountains ofnortheast Georgia, and drains much ofmetro Atlanta, most of west Georgia andsouthwest Georgia and adjoining counties ofsoutheast Alabama, before it splits the central part of theFlorida Panhandle and flows into theGulf of Mexico atApalachicola Bay, nearApalachicola, Florida. It drains an area of 20,355 square miles.^[1][2] Most of the northern half of the basin abuts theEastern Continental Divide on the east, and theACT River Basin to the west.

Sub-Basin HUC	Sub-Basin Name	Sub-Basin Description[3]	Sub-Basin Location[3]	Sub-Basin Size (mi2)[4]	Sub-Basin Map
03130001	Upper Chattahoochee	The drainage and associated waters of theChattahoochee River from thesource of the river inUnion County, running southwest throughLake Lanier to a line fromMarietta throughSmyrna,Atlanta, andDecatur, toStone Mountain.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofUnion,Towns,Rabun,Lumpkin,White,Habersham,Dawson,Hall,Banks,Cherokee,Forsyth,Gwinnett,Cobb,Fulton, andDeKalb.	1,586
03130002	Middle Chattahoochee-Lake Harding	The drainage and associated waters of theChattahoochee River from a line fromMarietta throughSmyrna,Atlanta, andDecatur, toStone Mountain, heading first southwest, then south, to a line fromOpelika to just north ofColumbus to east ofEllerslie.	Located inAlabama andGeorgia, in the counties ofCobb,Paulding,Carroll,Douglas,Fulton,Clayton,Coweta,Heard,Randolph,Chambers,Troup,Meriwether,Lee,Harris,Talbot,Russell, andMuscogee.	3,041
03130003	Middle Chattahoochee-Walter F. George Lake	The drainage and associated waters of theChattahoochee River from a line fromOpelika to just north ofColumbus to east ofEllerslie, heading south, to the Walter F. George Lock and Dam at the southern end ofWalter F. George Lake.	Located inAlabama andGeorgia, in the counties ofLee,Macon,Russell,Harris,Muscogee,Talbot,Chattahoochee,Marion,Taylor,Bullock,Barbour,Stewart,Webster,Quitman,Henry,Clay, andRandolph.	2,837
03130004	Lower Chattahoochee	The drainage and associated waters of theChattahoochee River from the Walter F. George Lock and Dam at the southern end ofWalter F. George Lake, heading south, to theJim Woodruff Lock and Dam at the southern end ofLake Seminole.	Located inAlabama,Florida, andGeorgia, in the counties ofBarbour,Henry,Clay,Randolph,Early,Houston,Jackson,Seminole,Decatur, andGadsden.	1,244
03130005	Upper Flint	The drainage and associated waters of theFlint River from thesource of the Flint River inEast Point, heading south, to a line from the northwestern corner ofSchley County throughIdeal toState Route 49 north ofMontezuma.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofFulton,Clayton,Coweta,Fayette,Henry,Spalding,Meriwether,Pike,Lamar,Upson,Monroe,Harris,Talbot,Taylor,Crawford,Marion,Schley,Macon, andPeach.	2,630
03130006	Middle Flint	The drainage and associated waters of theFlint River from a line from the northwestern corner ofSchley County throughIdeal toState Route 49 north ofMontezuma, heading southeast and south, to a line running southeast fromAlbany into centralWorth County and west ofSylvester.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofMarion,Taylor,Schley,Macon,Houston,Sumter,Dooly,Crips,Lee,Dougherty,Worth, andTurner.	1,558
03130007	Kinchafoonee-Muckalee	The drainage and associated waters ofKinchafoonee Creek andMuckalee Creek from centralMarion County, at thesource of Kinchafoonee Creek, heading south-southeast, to where Kinchafoonee Creek meets theFlint River inAlbany.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofChattahoochee,Marion,Schley,Stewart,Webster,Sumter,Terrell,Lee, andDougherty.	1,101
03130008	Lower Flint	The drainage and associated waters of theFlint River from a line running roughly parallel toU.S. Route 82 from northwest ofAlbany toState Route 112 southwest ofSylvester, running southwest to where the Flint River flows intoLake Seminole.	Located inFlorida andGeorgia, in the counties ofTerrell,Lee,Dougherty,Worth,Baker,Mitchell,Colquitt,Miller,Seminole,Decatur,Grady, andGadsden.	1,274
03130009	Ichawaynochaway	The drainage and associated waters ofIchawaynochaway Creek from thesource of Ichawaynochaway Creek just northwest ofWeston, running south to where the Ichawaynochaway flows into theFlint River, halfway betweenColquitt andCamilla.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofStewart,Webster,Randolph,Terrell,Lee,Clay,Calhoun,Dougherty,Early,Baker, andMiller.	1,104
03130010	Spring	The drainage and associated waters ofSpring Creek from thesource of Spring Creek northwest ofBluffton, running south to where the Spring flows intoLake Seminole.	Located entirely inGeorgia, in the counties ofClay,Calhoun,Early,Miller,Seminole, andDecatur.	789
03130011	Apalachicola	The drainage and associated waters of theApalachicola River from theJim Woodruff Lock and Dam at the southern end ofLake Seminole, running south through theFlorida Panhandle to where it flows intoApalachicola Bay and theGulf of Mexico.	Located inFlorida andGeorgia, in the counties ofDecatur,Jackson,Gadsden,Calhoun,Liberty,Gulf, andFranklin.	1,117
03130012	Chipola	The drainage and associated waters of theChipola River from south ofDothan, running south through theFlorida Panhandle to where it flows into theApalachicola River inGulf.	Located inAlabama andFlorida, in the counties ofGeneva,Houston,Jackson,Washington,Calhoun,Bay, andGulf.	1,292
03130013	New	The drainage and associated waters of theNew River from centralLiberty County, running south through theFlorida Panhandle to where it flows intoApalachicola Bay.	Located entirely inFlorida, in the counties ofLiberty andFranklin.	514
03130014	Apalachicola Bay	The drainage and associated waters ofApalachicola Bay.	Located entirely inFlorida, in the counties ofGulf andFranklin.	268

These states andAlabama have been involved in a water-use dispute for two decades, known as theTri-state water dispute.^[1][5] Georgia has also lobbied theUnited States Congress to endnavigation on the Appalachicola and lower Chattahoochee, to conserve more water during droughts. Keeping the two rivers at a navigable depth during these times requires large releases fromdams upstream, sending potential drinking water downstream for shipping, and often dropping lakes to levels dangerous to boaters.

Other ecological conservation and economic concerns include protecting harvests ofoysters in Apalachicola Bay, which require a large enough flow of fresh water to prevent excessivesaltwater intrusion from the Gulf.^[6] Numerous endangered and imperiled species occur in the basin, including many endemic mussels^[7]

The cost ofdredgingsilt, much of it caused by uncontrolled growth across metro Atlanta's fine red clay soil, has also been criticized as a wasteful exercise to float so little ship traffic.^[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toApalachicola Basin.

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:ACF Basin websiteArchived 2011-09-27 at theWayback Machine
• Florida DEP: Apalachicola River Watershed^[usurped]

• ACF River Basin
• Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico
• Watersheds of the United States
• Watersheds of Florida
• Landforms of Georgia (U.S. state)
• Landforms of Alabama

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