Coastal Georgia leaders rethink water planning as supply outlook shifts

Coastal Georgia leaders are reexamining how the region will manage water supplies as new infrastructure investments and shifts in industrial demand reshape earlier concerns.

The Current reports that just a year ago, planners were focused on whether groundwater could support rapid industrial growth — including Hyundai’s electric vehicle plant — without leaving farmers in Bulloch County short on irrigation. Since then, the outlook has changed.

In March, Gov. Brian Kemp advanced a $500 million state investment to increase drinking water capacity from the Savannah River. Later in the summer, International Paper announced the closure of two coastal mills, a move expected to reduce groundwater withdrawals from the Floridan aquifer by more than 20 million gallons per day, according to The Current.

Those developments were discussed at a December meeting of the Coastal Georgia Regional Water Planning Council, which is preparing recommendations ahead of the 2027 expiration of major water withdrawal permits in Chatham, Effingham, Bryan and Liberty counties.

Former Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach, a member of the planning council, raised concerns about how unused water permits could be handled amid rapid development inland.

“I come off of I-16 and every farm I see is for sale for development,” DeLoach said, questioning who might ultimately gain access to water permits no longer used by shuttered industrial facilities.

State regulators said no decisions have been made. The Current reports that officials are asking stakeholders to help shape how freed-up water should be managed.

EPD Water Supply Program Manager Wei Zeng said the state is weighing expanded use of surface water and redistributing groundwater pumping to reduce stress on the Floridan aquifer.

“Can we decide collectively which parties need to be on surface water and which need to be on groundwater?” Zeng said, noting that shifting pumping locations could ease saltwater intrusion affecting coastal wells.

Zeng added that while environmental impacts to the Savannah River are expected to be low, dissolved oxygen levels in the harbor remain under review.

Planners also discussed septic system use in fast-growing areas, wastewater reuse and saltwater intrusion in Glynn County. The advisory committee supporting the planning council is expected to reconvene in February.