Meeting Summary: Upper Oconee Council March 14, 2025

Memorandum

To:                        Upper Oconee Regional Water Planning Council

From:                   Dr. Gail Cowie (GWPPC)

Date:                    September 12, 2025

Subject:                Upper Oconee Council (UOC) Meeting Summary (subject to Council review and approval)

This memorandum provides the meeting summary of the Upper Oconee Regional Water Planning Council Meeting, held in person at The Lake Club at Reynolds Lake Oconee, 1100 Lake Club Drive, Greensboro, GA 30642 on March 14, 2025 from 12:45 PM to 4:00 PM.

1. Welcome and Council Business – Chair Melvin Davis

Council Chair Melvin Davis called the meeting to order at 12:45 PM and welcomed the Council and other attendees. The Chair asked for motions and seconds to approve the June 14, 2023 draft Meeting Summary and the March 14, 2025 draft Meeting Agenda. Motions were made and seconded; both were approved without dissent. Chair Davis asked for motions and seconds to approve Hunter Bicknell as the new Council Chair and Stuart Cofer as the new Council Vice Chair. Motions were made and seconded; both were approved without dissent. 

2. EPD Updates – Whitney Fenwick (EPD)

Whitney Fenwick was introduced by Jennifer Welte as EPD’s new liaison to the Upper Oconee Regional Water Planning Council. Ms. Fenwick manages the Wastewater Regulatory Program at EPD. She opened her remarks by providing an update on new EPD Regional Water Planning staff members. Russell Nix joined the team as Program Manager of the Regional Water Planning Unit. Tim Fields and Parris Maguire will support the water planning councils. Ms. Fenwick also provided an update on Regional Water Planning Implementation Seed Grants for the latest funding cycle. Two applications were received during the current funding cycle for projects in the Upper Oconee Region, one submitted by Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority and the other by the City of Auburn. Seed grant applications require an endorsement from the Council Chair, which provided by Chair Davis. The next funding cycle will be announced in July 2026.

Ms. Fenwick provided an update on lead service line inventories that were due in October 2024. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Georgia Environmental Finance Authority implemented an online system to accept and track submissions. Training sessions were held to support water systems with the implementation of requirements.

Additionally, EPD will hold a public meeting on April 4 to discuss comments on the draft document, Update to the Strategy for Addressing Phosphorous in NPDES Permitting (2024). 

Finally, EPD held a public meeting on March 13 on the draft document, Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Permitting Strategy (2025), which outlines EPD’s ideas for addressing the PFAS drinking water standards in certain types of wastewater permits. Ms. Fenwick discussed the content of the draft strategy, including the 2 types of wastewater permits covered by the draft strategy. Land application system (LAS) permits are required to meet drinking water standards at their down-gradient monitoring wells. Wastewater discharge permits that discharge to receiving streams with a designated use of drinking water will be evaluated to ensure that PFAS will not exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level (drinking water quality standard) after treatment by the downstream public water systems. Council members asked for clarification about EPA’s adoption of drinking water standards, and asked if PFAS was on the state’s radar when the Councils were formed (it was not). 

3. Council Activities in 2025 – Dr. Gail Cowie (Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center) 

Dr. Gail Cowie provided a high-level overview of council planning activities through the adoption of the final plan update in 2028. The Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center (the Center) will host a series of educational webinars on topics of interest to all councils. The first webinar will be held March 28 and will focus on the response to Hurricane Helene. There will be a joint council meeting in Fall 2025 with the Middle Ocmulgee and Upper Flint Councils. 

Dr. Cowie provided historical context on Regional Water Planning Implementation Seed Grants projects awarded and implemented in the Council. The seed grant program began in 2014. Thirty projects have been funded across the state since the program began. EPD is now prioritizing an earlier submission deadline and a focus on projects aimed at getting plan management measures on the ground. 

Comment 1 – What is a status of the ongoing appointment process for the Council? Dr. Cowie is working with GA EPD to help with recommendations on filling the remaining open seats. The Council needs representatives from the southern part of the region, particularly in the agricultural industry. The Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center will work with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for recommendations. The Center will also contact County Commission chairs for recommendations. 

4. Population Projections – Taylor Hafley (Carl Vinson Institute of Government) 

Taylor Hafley, Applied Demographer with Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG) provided an in-depth overview of Georgia demographic trends and compared state growth rates with national growth rates. Mr. Hafley also covered components of population change and the population projection methodology. Population estimates for 2023 show an increase by about 100k people per year since 2020, ranking Georgia as the 13th fastest growing state and 4th in numeric growth from 2020-2023. 

Comment 1 – Are non-US residents captured in the Census? Yes 

Comment 2 – Where are people coming from and why? Mr. Hafley addressed international and domestic migration. Sixty-three percent of migrants to Georgia came from 10 states. The same is true in the reverse. Florida is the highest giver and receiver of migrants to and from Georgia. 

Comment 3 – Does CVIOG look at why people are moving to Georgia? Industry trends in Georgia could impact in migration. 

A council member commented that if industries change, would that change who is moving in, e.g. green industry and EV battery industry that may shrink under the current administration? It can be a “chicken and egg” scenario for each situation. The goal of demographers at CVIOG is to provide trends across cohorts that are durable. CVIOG does look at large economic drivers and acknowledge the impacts. 

Comment 4 – Do the population projections developed by CVIOG go to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget? Yes, just projections and not historical estimates.

Comment 5 – This presentation confirms what we know about the counties in the basin. Divergence between where growth is (and isn’t) has everything to do with water and wastewater demands. 

Comment 6 – Do population projections capture people with a second home in the area? Population projections will not capture people with a second home. A clarification was provided that historical estimates are critical to population projections. CVIOG uses estimates on where people spend more than half of their time. That will be the base population and will influence the projection. There are different modeling approaches based on second homes. 

Comment 7 – The trend in this basin seems to have not changed over the last 20 years, in that the upper portion produces most of demands. It was confirmed that the population is weighted to the north. 

Comment 8 – Mr. Hafley asked the Council if they have questions about population projections that might help CVIOG improve their method and process. 

Comment 9 – Regarding school aged population, does CVIOG consider public, private, and home school? It was confirmed that the slide with the enrollment change graph was looking only at the public schooled population. 

Does the method for county-by-county projections consider how many children will be in a household? The details on how many kids are in a household will be at the local level. 

Comment 10 - In water demand forecast method, there can be some interpretation and discussion on the model methodology. Dr. Cowie confirmed that the Councils will have a presentation on how this population projection information relates to determining water and wastewater demands. 

Comment 11 – How do we estimate migration in and out rates? CVIOG uses net migration as it is much more stable. 

5. Local Water and Wastewater Planning in Fast-Growing Counties – Nathan Hester (Jackson County Water and Sewer Authority) and Jennifer Scott (Town of Braselton)

Nathan Hester provided an overview of the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority (JCWSA) system and operations. He discussed peak demand and high-water users, including irrigation and data centers. JCWSA focuses on water conservation, education and outreach, and alternative strategies like purple pipe and reuse to reduce demand. Mr. Hester also addressed capacity replacement, connection fees, and balancing the costs of connection with the desire for new development. Connection fees and water rates are determined based on a sophisticated calculation that takes into account infrastructure maintenance and repair. 

Jennifer Scott provided a background of growth and development in the Town of Braselton, and an overview of the water system. Thirty years ago, Braselton had a population of 600. Braselton’s population in 2025 is 16,000. The Town of Braselton provides water to a geographic area twice the size of the town, with a service delivery area much larger than the city. The Town also crosses county lines, which requires coordination and cooperation with multiple governments.

Comment 1 – How much water do data centers use? It was confirmed that data centers often request a very large water demand but when pressed to reduce their demand, they will. 

Comment 2 – What is the JCWSA rate structure? A conservation rate structure, where the more water used, the higher the bill. 

Comment 3 – What is the Town of Braselton’s experience with master planning? The Town of Braselton is experienced with master planning. An example was provided of having to plan for a large demand request from a single industrial customer, which would have left the Town out of capacity. 

Comment 4 – One of the management practices in the Upper Oconee Regional Water Plan is to develop water and wastewater master plans. What lessons might be drawn from implementing that management practice? Master planning helps with finding ways to expand reuse for irrigation so that there is less demand on potable water. 

Comment 5 – Has either entity looked at installing underground basins for nontreated water? Could GA EPD look at that as a cost-effective method for reducing demand on potable water? This is not something that is common in Georgia.

Comment 6 – Do you require rain sensor shutoffs on irrigation? Yes, it is in the zoning codes. It would be worth learning about this management practice from someone at the Metro Water District. 

Comment 7 – A discussion was held about planning and capacity for sewer and collections. Since lower flow fixtures are required by the state plumbing code, utilities aren’t seeing the flow they once saw in the sewer lines. Utilities are putting in more pumps in some instances. Utilities have to design for more concentrated loading at new treatment facilities. These issues, plus those related to solids accumulation and odor, can be addressed through capacity planning. 

Comment 8 – There needs to be a push to combine stormwater management and irrigation.

Comment 9 – Regulatory unknows can have a big impact on budget. 

Comment 10 – Regarding drought response: how do you get a response out to the public that is going to yield the behavior change you want? It is often a public relations nightmare and generally the public doesn’t understand the interconnectedness of the system. Conservation is a double-edged sword because when people use less water, the revenues decrease but the costs stay the same. But conservation can also delay large investments in capacity increase. Need to make sure there are easier to implement conservation measures in times of drought. 

6. Public Comment – Chair Melvin Davis 

Chair Melvin Davis asked if there were any comments from council members and hearing none, moved on to public comment.

Chair Davis asked if there are any public comments from members of the public or local officials. There were none.

7. Wrap-up

Chair Melvin Davis provided words of appreciation to the Council for working with him and Vice Chair Pat Graham on the Council’s planning efforts to date. New Chair Hunter Bicknell also thanked Council members and said that he looked forward to getting additional members appointed in the coming months. 

8. Adjourn – Meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM

Meeting Attendance

Council Members

• Hunter Bicknell (new Chair)
• Stuart Cofer (new Vice-Chair)
• Melvin Davis (former Vice-Chair)
• Pat Graham (former Vice-Chair)
• Charles Armentrout
• Linda Blechinger
• Jim Dove
• Rabun Neal
• Jennifer Scott
• Bill Sharp
• Chris Yancey

Georgia EPD Staff

• Anna Truszczynski
• Jennifer Welte
• Clete Barton
• Tim Fields
• Parris McGuire

Public Attendees and Agency Partners 

• Carol Flaute, Northeast Georgia Regional Commission
• Adam Scott Thackston, Georgia Forestry Commission
• Wes Lewis, Georgia Power Company
• Kathryn Hill, Putnam County Health Department

Planning Contractors

• Gail Cowie, Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center
• Sarah Skinner, Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center
• Caitlin Sweeney, Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center

Related to: 

• Upper Oconee