Columbus Consolidated Government Whitewater Project

The Columbus Consolidated Government (CCG) project will continue the progress of the Smart Uptown Columbus project by improving the safety of the Chattahoochee River as part of the Smart Community Corps Intern Program for Summer 2022

Residents of Columbus often turn to the Chattahoochee River for outdoor recreational activities such as whitewater rafting, fishing, and kayaking. In fact, the section of the Chattahoochee River that runs through Columbus is the longest manmade urban whitewater course in the country. However, the river’s frequent flooding poses danger to its visitors. Between 2017 and 2019, 11 people tragically drowned in Columbus’ section of the river, and a total of 54 rescue calls have been made over the last three years. Dr. James Forrest Toelle of CCG is teaming up with Georgia Tech professor Dr. John E. Taylor and Georgia Tech researcher Neda Mohammadi along with Smart Community Corps interns to develop high-resolution cameras with state-of-the-art human detection sensors that can monitor the river nonstop. This technology will be accompanied by research on new methods of alerting emergency services and pedestrians when flooding occurs.

You can learn more about the Partnership’s community research support of Columbus Consolidated Government here.