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Abstract
Georgia contains nearly one-third of the remaining marshes on the United States Atlantic coast. Over the last twenty years, Chatham Countys population has steadily increased. This in turn has lead to increases in demand for infrastructure. Urbanization can have indirect, negative impacts on the surrounding coastal ecosystems through polluted stormwater runoff. The challenge for planners becomes how to encourage development while mitigating polluted stormwater runoff. Chatham County is unique in it implementing NPDES Phase I and Phase II as regulatory, making it a prime example for other coastal areas to implement sustainable practices. Schuelers Impervious Cover Method and ArcSWAT provide two modeling frameworks to examine Chatham Countys regional land use in relation to stream health. This in turn provides a regional context to stormwater useful in leading sustainable development practices for Chatham County.