Press releases and editorials.
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What is the impact of adding freshwater to a saltwater basin? Will this harm the river ecosystem?
The Laurel View River is not saltwater but brackish, meaning it has a salinity between freshwater and saltwater. Historically, that is a natural mix of saltwater and freshwater from springs, creeks, and rivers, which makes it a natural nursery for shrimp, oysters, crabs, and many species of aquatic life. Today, another important source of freshwater to rivers, estuaries, and tidal basins is wastewater treatment plant discharges. There are currently 76 wastewater discharges permitted by the State along Georgia’s coast. There are 799 permitted discharges across the Savannah, Canoochee, Ogeechee, Altamaha, Satilla, and the Saint Mary’s River watersheds. All of them send treated water downstream into estuaries along the Atlantic Ocean.
Rather than harmful, the State’s Coastal Georgia Regional Water Plan (2023) recognizes that industrial and municipal discharges are an important source of freshwater in estuaries as springs vanish due to the significant use of the aquifer. According to the last study conducted by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), the impact of the discharge would be "de minimis," which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as "so minor as to merit disregard." The study estimates that 258 million gallons per day (mgd) of freshwater flows into the Laurel View tidal basin. This water comes from ditches, creeks, canals, and the ground as water from higher elevations makes its way to the ocean. While LCDA’s plan is to reuse as much of the treated water as possible from the Water Reclamation Facility for irrigation, cooling, and other natural processes under exploration, even the maximum permitted discharge of 3 mgd (which will take 20-30 years to reach and with good reuse plans, may never) would represent only 1.16% additional freshwater added to the system.
How does this facility compare to other wastewater treatment plants in the area?
The proposed Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) at Tradeport East (TPE) uses the same technology, Membrane Bioreactor or MBR, as the Sterling Creek Plant in Richmond Hill and the North Bryan Facility near the Hyundai plant, but is smaller in terms of footprint and capacity.
Plans call for the Liberty County facility to initially process 0.5 million gallons per day (mgd) with the ability to treat 1 mgd in its first phase if needed. It is designed to treat a maximum of 3 mgd over the next 20-30 years as needed. By comparison, the Richmond Hill facility initially treated 4 mgd and can eventually treat 8 mgd.