Salty water problems along the coast and lower pressure in
the upper Floridan aquifer
are prompting a state plan to manage the groundwater there.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division plan, if it
goes into effect, would
greatly restrict groundwater use in the area.
“The plan affects a 24-county area of coastal Georgia,” said
Tony Tyson, an
engineer with the University of Georgia Extension Service.
“It will affect industries, cities, farmers and golf
courses," Tyson said. "Just about everyone will be
affected one way or
another."
A series of public meetings will lay out the problem and the
EPD plan.
Sessions will be in Savannah March 25 at the Jewish Education
Alliance, Kingsland March
26 at City Hall and Rincon March 28 at Town Hall. Further
meetings are set for Statesboro
April 1 at Ogeechee Tech, Brunswick April 2 at The Casino, and
Glennville April 4 at
Glennville Middle School.
The Rincon meeting will be at 7 p.m. All others will begin at
7:30.
EPD director Harold F. Reheis urged people to attend the
meetings and review and
comment on the proposal.
The Floridan aquifer lies beneath all of southeast Georgia
and provides about 370
million gallons of water a day to cities, industries and
farms.
Saltwater is moving into the upper part north of Hilton Head
Island and toward
Savannah. A city well in Thunderbolt (Chatham County) has been
closed because of
saltiness.
Brines have already made part of the aquifer salty in
Brunswick and could be moving
into the freshwater part there.
Saltwater could also be intruding around Fernandina Beach,
Fla., and St. Mary’s, Ga.
“All these conditions are due to the amount of pumping
being done in southeast Georgia and adjacent areas of South
Carolina and Florida,” Reheis said.
The EPD plan would affect an area from Burke County in the
north to Charlton County in
the south, and from the coast to Toombs County.
It would go into effect July 1, 1996, and would cover 10
years. It’s based on the
principle that current groundwater use shouldn’t jeopardize its
future use.
Under the plan, EPD would weigh a water use’s efficiency, its
effect on saltwater
intrusion and other water sources available. In the 13 counties
most affected, the
proposed plan would:
* Reduce pumping by at least 12 million gallons per day.
* Permit no new golf courses or nurseries to use the aquifer.
Require all current golf
courses or nurseries in Glynn, Chatham, Effingham and Bryan
counties to explore other
water sources.
* Stop issuing groundwater use permits for new or expanded
agricultural use.
* Require all city water utilities to reduce per capita use
by at least 10 percent of
1995 use by the end of 2005.
* Require any expanded or new use of the aquifer to be offset
by reductions. That
includes uses by industry, government or private community
systems.
* Require all city water utilities to use a water supply plan
by the end of 1997.
* Cut Savannah-area industries’ groundwater pumping by 10
percent by 2005. And trim
public use from 162 to 145 gallons per capita per day by
2005.
“The public needs to come to these meetings,” Tyson
said.”Georgia is serious about
managing its water resources.
"But EPD is also serious about wanting people to give
them their input of
alternative suggestions," he said.
"The proposed plan could have a major impact on certain
communities, industries,
businesses and farmers," he said. "People need to
contribute to the discussion.”
