Leaders in southeast Georgia have broken ground on a $146 million project aimed at shoring up the region’s water supply for decades.
The expansion of a surface water treatment plant in Port Wentworth, just west of Savannah, comes as the area welcomes more residents, hotels and other signs of economic growth, like the massive Hyundai vehicle factory in Bryan County.
“The importance of a safe, adequate supply of potable drinking water for human consumption, fire protection and industrial use is essential to any local economy, regional economy, and people’s health and well-being,” said Ron Feldner, the water resources chief for the city of Savannah, which provides the water for a three-county region.
Feldner said the city is currently permitted to take 58 million gallons of water per day from the Savannah River’s Abercorn Creek.
He said that amount could increase to 90 million gallons of water per day in the next 25 to 30 years if economic forecasts are right and the state permits the withdrawals.
That would take pressure off the region’s underground supply of drinking water, the Floridan aquifer, from which the city is permitted to take 18 million gallons of water per day, he said.
“It is good news for the aquifer,” Feldner said. “It’s part of the resilient strategy of the groundwater resource to ensure that it remains viable because groundwater is going to always be an important part of the water supply plan here in coastal Georgia and we want to make sure that it is resilient and able to continue to provide for the areas of the region that have to rely on groundwater.”
State lawmakers approved state funds for the expansion as part of a $500 million appropriation last year.
Effingham County also received $319 million for new water infrastructure. Bryan County, home to a massive new Hyundai vehicle factory, received $37 million for water transmission infrastructure and a high-service booster station as part of the state funding.
The first phase of the expansion is expected to be completed in 2029, with later phases coming online by 2032.
The city of Savannah serves drinking water to approximately 350,000 residents across the region.
This story comes to The Current GA through a reporting partnership with GPB News, a non-profit newsroom covering the state of Georgia.