July 14, 2016

Meeting Summary: Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Council June 23, 2016

 

To: Savannah – Upper Ogeechee Regional Water Planning Council From:  Andrew Jarrett, Jacobs

Date: July 14, 2016

Subject: Savannah – Upper Ogeechee Council Meeting 2 – Regional Water Plan Review and Revision Process

Meeting Summary

This memorandum provides the meeting summary of the Savannah – Upper Ogeechee (SUO) Regional Water Planning Council Meeting 2, held on June 23, 2016 at the Oconee Fall Line Technical College in Dublin, Georgia. The individual council meeting portion began at 3:00 PM and followed the earlier Joint Council and Council Breakout sessions that were part of the June 23 Joint Meeting agenda.

Welcome and Debrief from Joint Meeting

Council Member Azevedo stated it was informative, and the information presented inspires confidence for the status of the Savannah-Upper Ogeechee RWP.

Council Member Boardman reiterated a point he made in the Session B breakout session, that he would like to see a full data set, or packaged analysis for the entirety of the Savannah River Basin, rather than the current breakdown between the Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Region and the Coastal Region.

Council Member Webster stated that he would like the most relevant modeling data used when modeling for the SUO region. He expressed concern about how comparable data from a data point in Southwest Georgia is to the Savannah-Upper Ogeechee Region, stating that the two are very different regions. He would like to see data from the Southeast Georgia experiment station used in the modeling efforts, as that data would potentially provide a more relevant picture for the SUO region. This change could put the Council in a better position to plan and manage the river. Council Member Webster pointed out that the Ogeechee River is very different from the Savannah River, and that Plan elements (management practices, recommendations) could be better tailored with more relevant information.

PC stated that both concerns from Council Member Boardman and Council Member Webster would be passed on to the GA EPD.

Follow-up Discussion from Office Hours Call

Chairman Cross briefly recapped office hours discussion from Friday, June 17th, stating that it was a productive review of the County level breakdown of the data that was presented at Council Meeting 1.

 

PC stated that there were a few questions that came from that discussion that will be addressed:

  1. Look into further information regarding the Lincoln County population projections based on comment from Council Member Jordan.
  2. Look into Jefferson County’s Municipal Water Demand projection as compared to the population projection regarding the decreased population growth projection vs. the slightly increased water demand based on comment from Council Member Jordan.
  3. Follow up with EPD regarding Council Member Jordan’s inquiry about ensuring that any updated industrial forecasts have the most current information, specifically changes in industrial water/ wastewater demand related to the Imerys Oilfield Solutions (formerly PyraMax) and Coastal Processing facilities.

New information will be shared with the full Council once answers have been established.

Council Meeting Business

There was a motion and a second from the Council to approve the CM1 Meeting Summary. Chairman Cross called for a vote, the vote was unanimous and the summary was approved.

Chairman Cross gave a brief update on the 319(h) grant project and partner selection discussion, stating that although a few projects were discussed, at this time no projects are being pursued due to a lack of identified matching fund sources within the Region.

Public Comment Period

There were no comments from the public.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 PM.

Meeting Attendance

SUO Regional Water Council members in attendance:

  • Ron C. Cross, Chairman
  • Bruce Azevedo
  • Braye C. Boardman
  • Jerry L. Boling
  • Charles Cawthorne
  • Patricia T. Goodwin
  • Tom Jordan
  • Scott P. MacGregor
  • Chris McCorkle
  • Tim McGill
  • Charles G. (Charlie) Newton
  • Stan Sheppard
  • Scott Williams
  • R. Lee Webster
  • Tom Wiedmeier

Georgia EPD Representatives in attendance:

  • Jeff Larson

Reginal Water Council contractors in attendance from Jacobs Engineering:

  • Andrew Jarrett

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