I believe one of the first ways we can address Food Deserts is through addressing the dumping of toxic waste on land that is used by local community organizations, farmers, and citizens for agriculture, recreational use, and for clean water. Proctor Creek is a watershed connected to the Chattahoochee River. Being that the Chattahoochee River is our main source of water, many in West Atlanta heavily rely on Proctor Creek as a source of clean water. Many local farmers at one point utilized water from Proctor Creek for agricultural purposes in which they were providing a somewhat temporary "solution" to the lack of healthy options in West Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout the years, many abandoned industrial facilities were leaking hazardous and toxic chemicals into the land and local water ways, such as Proctor Creek. Eventually, the water became so contaminated from hazardous spills, dumping of waste, sewage leaks, and many more environmentally hazardous activities, the EPA had to step in. After numerous studies and tests examining the degree of hazardous wastes in Proctor Creek, the EPA awarded over $179,000 to three different organizations to bring restoration to Proctor Creek and to clean up hazardous waste spills  (Young 2014).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem is after years of cleaning up sites such as Proctor Creek, there is still much to be done not just with water, but with the land right next to places such as Proctor Creek that affect local farms and gardens striving to provide healthy options to the community. In 2016, we see this type of problem grow from water contamination, to land contamination, to farms dying off due to contamination, to no healthy foods being grown, all alongside being in the middle of a food desert. To rectify this, I would propose local organizations and organized community citizens file for negligence claim on the part of companies and factories still located in West Atlanta that continue to dump hazardous waste into Proctor Creek affecting everything. Proof of negligence on behalf of companies dumping may reside in physically looking at miles of toxic chemicals flowing from an industrial facility, on top of the water. In addition, I would request the EPA do another study of what chemicals have polluted the water and still do. Many studies have already been done and show that 33% of the watershed is impervious (Burton & Fulk, 2013), thus flooding is an additional problem that has to be examined as the courts hear a negligence claim.