By Eric Curl
May 27, 2024 – Tybee Island is seeking a less expensive way to meet its growing water demand and ensure groundwater withdrawals from the Floridan Aquifer do not exceed permitted limits.
At the city’s request, Thomas & Hutton recently submitted a proposal to review alternative water supply sources for Tybee at a cost of $15,000.
The proposal comes after the city council voted on Feb. 8 to seek Thomas & Hutton’s assistance in determining the feasibility of connecting to the city of Savannah’s water system.
<Related: How much do you know about your water? – The Current – Mary Landers>
The city’s five-year withdrawal permit expires at the end of the year, but is expected to be renewed. However, Tybee will occasionally exceed the maximum limit during holidays and the busy summer season. The alternative source could help prevent that from occurring, according to city council member Nick Sears.
“This could be beneficial to Savannah as well as us because the water could run both ways,” he said.
Under the proposal, the engineering firm would prepare an alternatives analysis of several options, including:
- Cretaceous aquifer well & reverse Osmosis Treatment
- Alternate aquifers (Miocene/shallow)
- Seawater/Brackish Water withdrawal and Reverse Osmosis Treatment
- Extension from the city of Savannah’s water system
- beneficial reuse from wastewater treatment facility
The proposal was provided for informational purposes only at this point and the contract has not been executed, according to interim City Manager Michelle Owens.
The council will take up the discussion of alternative water sources again at a future council workshop, Owens said in an email on May 23.
<Read the 2022 Coastal Georgia Regional Water Plan>
Connecting to Savannah’s waterline is expected to cost less than alternative plans under consideration – a deeper well to the Cretaceous aquifer or a desalination plant. About 10 to 12 years ago, Thomas and Hutton estimated the cost of connecting to the city’s water line on Wilmington Island would cost between $5 million to $8 million, according to information the firm’s Chris Stovall recently provided to the city.
However, today’s costs are probably double or triple compared to the estimates at the time, Stovall said in the February email to Owens.
Tybee had once looked to draw water from the 4,000-foot deep Cretaceous aquifer, but a $6.2 million test well collapsed when it was nearing completion in 2016, as reported by the Savannah Morning News. The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, which funded the test well, ended up taking the contractor to court over the collapse and the lawsuit was settled under undisclosed terms in June 2022.
Because Tybee Island was not a party to the lawsuit, it is not entitled to any settlement proceeds, according to Tammi Fuller, GEFA’s director of legal services.
Tybee’s current permit allows the city to withdraw 916,000 gallons per day from the Floridan aquifer. If the Cretaceous well had been successful, withdrawals would have been limited to 516,000 GPD.
“It’s not thought to be the emergency we thought it was a few years back,” Sears said. “But sooner or later something is probably going to have to be done.”
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources will reassess the existing coastal strategy and then use the findings to update the policy and future permitting protocols, according to Bill Frechette, with DNR.
The coastal policy will be updated, and the DNR will start a public involvement process ahead of that, Frechette said in an email in February.
Meanwhile, the city of Savannah is also taking steps to reduce the amount of groundwater it withdraws from the Floridan Aquifer by 2025, as mandated by the state to prevent saltwater intrusion, even as area growth is increasing demand. In December, the Savannah City council approved a $1.5 million contract with Hussey, Gay, and Bell, to evaluate the Savannah I&D Surface Water Treatment Plant and recommend upgrades so that treated surface water can serve as an alternative to the decreased amount of groundwater available.
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