Archaeological, Botanical, and Wildlife Survey Proposed Water System Improvements Fayette County, Georgia

An archaeological. botanical, and wildlife survey was conducted for Miller, Stevenson, and Steinichen, Inc. on the site of the proposed water system improvement for Fayette County, Georgia. The study area includes a proposed 800 acre lake basin (previously cleared) on the Fayette-Coweta County line along Line and Shoal Creeks and a proposed 2.75 mile water line to run from the dam east to Ebenezer Road. The survey was conducted the first week of November, 1980 (Archaeology and Terrestrial Biology) and the first week of December, 1980 (Aquatic Biology}. The archaeological survey discovered 23 archaeological sites and 16 isolated finds. Both prehistoric and historic resources are represented. The majority of these sites are related to prehistoric seasonal hunting activities and warrent no further work. However, four prehistoric sites (Site 15, 16, 19 and 21) within the project area were intensively utilized or occupied and require the development and execution of exploratory testing programs. The biological component of this survey located three areas of significance. A bluff along Shoal Creek supplied favorable habitat for Schisardra glabra and possibly other of Georgia's protected species, and was reco11Dended for a spring survey to make a final determination of its significance. The shoals

at the upper end of Line Creek in the proposed lake basin supported a very unique plant community and supplied recreational benefits to local citizens and was reco11111ended for avoidance, if possible. The swamp ecotone on the east side of Flat Creek, where the proposed water line would intersct it, supported a rare assemblage of Coastal Plain and Piedmont species and should be avoided during construction by placement of the line a short distance to the south. Significant aquatic resources were not located during the survey.