Liberty County Development Authority and Ogeechee Riverkeeper announce water quality monitoring partnership

The Liberty County Development Authority (LCDA) and Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK) have reached a landmark agreement to establish a comprehensive baseline water quality monitoring program for the Laurel View and North Newport Rivers in Liberty County.

The partnership brings together a local economic development organization and a respected water conservation nonprofit to collect independent, science-based data to inform future decisions on water resources and environmental stewardship in Liberty County.

All data will be publicly available at https://www.ogeecheeriverkeeper.org/libertywater/. ORK’s dedicated webpage will also include collection protocols, quality control measures, and methodology. Further, ORK has created a guide for understanding the various data points and what they mean for the health of the river.

Using remote-enabled probes, the monitoring program includes continuous water-quality measurements and laboratory testing of samples collected from the Laurel View and North Newport rivers. ORK’s testing will track dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity through continuous monitoring, as well as 5-day BOD, enterococci, ammonia, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, pH, and total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), through monthly sampling.

The program is designed to establish a clear understanding of existing environmental conditions and provide valuable baseline information for the community, regulators, scientists, and local decision makers. Periodic reports will be produced during the project and be made available to the public to help residents better understand the health of local waterways.

“This partnership reflects a shared commitment to transparency, sound science, and informed decision making,” said Brynn Grant, CEO of LCDA. We believe meaningful conversations about our community’s future should be grounded in credible data. We are grateful to Ogeechee Riverkeeper for bringing their expertise and reputation to this important effort.”

“Ogeechee Riverkeeper has and always will push for science-based decision making,” said Damon Mullis, Riverkeeper and executive director of ORK. “We will also continue to advocate treatment at the highest possible level for the waste created and push for the most stringent permit conditions we can get to protect our waters as growth continues. We are encouraged by the LCDA’s willingness to collect more data and ORK is willing to partner with organizations that seek to make important and impactful decisions fully based in the best science.”

Before any sampling begins, ORK will develop a detailed monitoring plan in coordination with Thomas & Hutton Engineering that identifies where samples will be collected, how often they will be taken, how they will be handled, and the quality standards to be followed to ensure the results are accurate and reliable.

The year-long monitoring program (with an option to be renewed for up to three consecutive years) is expected to provide a comprehensive baseline water quality dataset for these waterways of the Ogeechee River Basin.

LCDA plans to build a wastewater treatment facility that would discharge up to 3 million gallons of treated water per day when operating at full capacity, which is estimated to take 20-30 years to reach. The current plans include a water reclamation facility with advanced Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology to treat water to near-drinking water quality. This highly-treated water is safe to use for irrigation, fire suppression systems, and in industrial processes–a key component to protecting aquifer water for drinking use only. Potential receiving bodies of the treated water include the Laurel View River and the North Newport River.

LCDA Board Chairman and State Representative Al Williams said, “This effort is about learning, listening, and ensuring that future decisions are informed by quality data and a transparent process.

For more information, visit www.cleanwaterbrightfuture.com or contact LCDA at [email protected].