Ogeechee Riverkeeper samples in waders, works with residents, pores over data, and protects our watershed every day – to ensure that clean water will be plentiful for hundreds of years to come. We don’t believe we should wait and hope; nor should we take the word of those who will benefit from the project that they will eventually take care of it. Our area is fortunate to have access to the Floridan Aquifer, which contains clean drinking water. ORK and others believe that this water should be used primarily for people, animals, and agriculture – not for industrial purposes.
We are still living with the consequences of past excessive use of groundwater. Decades of overuse by a few large industries created a “cone of depression” in the aquifer, reducing upward pressure from 40 feet to a 120-foot deep depression, leading to lower water levels and saltwater intrusion into the freshwater aquifer. As a result, Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, and parts of Effingham counties have had withdrawal restrictions in place since 2006 to slow this saltwater intrusion. Efforts to reduce groundwater damage are far from complete. These counties are being asked to further reduce their current groundwater withdrawals over the next year. Despite these efforts, the water table has only recovered 40 feet—still a net loss of 120 feet. All of this was done in response to short-term economic gains at the expense of a shared, public resource.
To avoid leaving our future generations in an even worse situation, our region must have a concrete and concerted plan for water. Facing a new wave of water shortages will put even more strain on our already strained water supplies. We have compiled all of the applications, maps, permits, documents, pictures, schedules, news, data and more for the public to view at ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/megasite.
Responding too quickly to economic opportunity is no excuse for jeopardizing people’s access to clean water. If our politicians continue to take a case-by-case approach, industries, corporations, and huge housing developments will fight for dwindling supplies, potentially cutting corners at every turn. And the result will be death by a thousand straws stuck into a scarce water supply.
Our region’s citizens should not be drinking reclaimed river water while industries monopolize the clean water from our aquifer for profit. Farmers should not have to worry about their wells running dry while they work to provide food for our country. The history and status quo of overexploitation of the Florida aquifer cannot continue. This shared resource must be better protected for future generations of Georgia citizens.
It is up to elected and appointed local, municipal and state leaders to decide whether this growth will be a short-term boom with long-term impacts on the region and its residents, or whether it will be the catalyst for ensuring stability for generations of coastal Georgia residents.
Poor water planning does not justify poor water policy. The promise of potential benefits is no reason to sacrifice what we already have and what will only become more valuable in the years to come.
