RICHMOND HILL - The fast-growing city of Richmond Hill, looking for more drinking water, wants to drill a well into the deepest level of a giant underground reservoir, known as the lower Floridan aquifer. <br>
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But critics say the proposal could permanently damage the aquifer, which has provided drinking water to south Georgia for years. <br>
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Mayor Richard Davis told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the coastal city on the outskirts of Savannah wants to drill into the lower Floridan, a smaller and saltier layer of the aquifer, because it needs more water as the city grows. <br>
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After digging a well, the city would build a plant to treat the water and make it drinkable. <br>
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The state Environmental Protection Division has to approve the well. If it does so, it would be the first time Georgia has allowed anyone to tap into the lower Floridan since the state capped withdrawals in 1997 because it was concerned about saltwater intrusion. <br>
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Opponents say EPD chief Harold Reheis should deny the permit because tapping the lower aquifer could allow fresh water from the upper aquifer to leak down into the salty layer, depleting the region's main freshwater supply. <br>
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They want the state to put a hold on lower Floridan wells at least until completion of a $14 million state-sponsored study of the entire south Georgia water system. <br>
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The study, which will be completed in late 2004, will be the basis for the region's water management plan, due about a year later.
