What is a watershed? "A watershed is an area
of land that drains into a water body, such as a lake, river,
stream, or wetland. Rain, snow, or hail that falls on the
watershed eventually finds its way to a lake or stream by
flowing over land into a creek or storm sewer (runoff), or
by soaking into the soil to become groundwater." MAUWIWatersheds Improvement Guidance Document
Glen Creek - Candler Lake watershed is one of many
small or "sub-" watersheds of the Peachtree
and Nancy Creeks Watershed. The Peachtree and Nancy Creeks
watershed, in turn, is one of many sub-watersheds of the Chattahoochee
River basin.
Peachtree/Nancy Creeks watershed encompasses 134
square miles in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton counties. ["Introduction",
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] The major streams that drain
the Peachtree/Nancy Creeks watershed are Peachtree Creek,
North Fork Peachtree Creek, South Fork Peachtree Creek, Burnt
Fork Creek, and Nancy Creek.
Glen Creek watershed encompasses about 4 square miles.
It is drained by Glen Creek which begins at the confluence
of three small tributaries -- one running from Hillcrest Avenue
in the Glenwood Estates neighborhood , one from
behind Glenwood School on East Ponce de Leon Avenue, and one
from the pond in Decatur Cemetery. These three tributaries
meet at the southern end of Glenn Lake Park. The creek then
flows northward under Church Street. In the Great Lakes neighborhood
it is joined by a feeder from Closeburn Park. It continues
under Scott Boulevard, North Decatur Road, and Desmond Street
into Mason Mill Park where it joins Burnt Fork Creek and South
Fork Peachtree Creek.
The Glen Creek watershed designated by the Peachtree/Nancy
Creeks Technical Advisory Council conjoins the Candler
Lake area on Emory University campus where the combined
creeks, thereafter known as South Fork Peachtree Creek, run
under Clairmont Rd., past Candler Lake, under Houston Mill
Rd., through Hahn Woods, then under Clifton Rd. to join Peavine
Creek by Old Briarcliff Way below Sage Hill Shopping Center.
