9-year-old's drowning could bring tougher Chattahoochee rules | News

ATLANTA - The funeral for 9-year-old Anna Van Horn of Peachtree City was held Thursday afternoon.

She drowned while tubing on the Chattahoochee River with two adults and three other children last Friday.

Her death may now help bring about some tougher safety rules along the river.

"This is the third one so far within about six weeks within the National Recreation Area," said Park Service Superintendent Patty Wissinger.

"We had a couple last year and we have near misses nearly every single weekend," she added.

The National Park Service controls much, but not all, of 48 miles of river from Buford Dam down to Atlanta's Peachtree Creek.

More than 1 million people go down that stretch every year, many of them not really prepared.

"We see people in just about anything that floats; they'll come on swimming pool noodles; I've even seen people going down the river floating on their coolers," Wissinger said.

The National Park Service can't control private property along the river, of course.

But Wissinger says they're bringing in some consultants and working with local governments to make some changes.

Those tighter rules could cover everything from the type of flotation devices people can use to limiting the number of private companies that make money off river trips, like the Park Service did in the 1980s.

Also under review are whether the sirens, signs and recorded messages about daily water releases from Buford Dam are good enough warnings.

Those water surges can quickly double or even triple the river's depth.

We found some novice rafters getting into the Chattahoochee on Thursday afternoon who weren't even aware of the danger.

"I did not know that," said rafter Eleanor Towles when asked about the dam.

Right now there are two ways to find out the schedule for the Army Corps of Engineers' Buford Dam water releases: By tuning into radio station AM 1610 or by calling 770-945-1466.

River users are urged to check those messages right before they go in because the times and information can change.