When the largest city in Chatham County and the largest in neighboring Bryan County recently issued widespread boil water alerts within a few weeks of each other, some area residents wondered if the problems were connected.
They weren’t.
Each city receives its water from different sources and independently has had problems due to different water infrastructure issues.
Savannah’s issue related to its treatment of water from the Savannah River. Richmond Hill does not use water from the river. It relies entirely on water from the Floridan aquifer.
The two cities’ water distribution systems are not interconnected. Savannah sells treated surface water to some local municipalities, including Pooler and Port Wentworth, but not Richmond Hill.
Savannah issued its boil water alert on Aug. 15 after a malfunction in a hose connection at its surface water treatment plant interrupted the feed of a coagulant, resulting in increased cloudiness of the water. A similar issue arose in May but did not result in an advisory because the affected water did not reach the distribution system.
Savannah’s advisory was fully lifted on Aug. 17, after no evidence of bacterial contamination was discovered.
Savannah treats about 50 million gallons a day of water from the Savannah River at its Industrial & Domestic treatment plant. It also treats and distributes about 18 million gallons of water daily from the Floridan aquifer, blending the water for some of its customers.
Richmond Hill issued its boil water advisory on Aug. 27 after its system lost pressure due to “a communication loss with the automated system” that controls the production wells. The advisory was lifted Aug. 28 after no evidence of bacterial contamination was discovered.
The Bryan County city pulls about 1 million gallons of water a day from its four Floridan aquifer wells.