The Lower Savannah River Basin Environmental Restoration Project will bring more and better water to the city's water treatment plant intake on Abercorn Creek and restore freshwater marsh habitat for the Savannah Wildlife Refuge. The agreement was signed Monday. When barges were common in the river, some of its natural oxbows were cut through by the Army Corps to speed up the trip between Savannah and Augusta. About 42 cuts were put in place, shortening the trip by about 62 miles. The cuts also reduced water flow into Mill, Bear and Abercorn creeks.
Lower flows mean tea-colored tannic acid from naturally rotting vegetation builds up in the water.
That amount should be saved by the restoration project, said Harry Jue, head of the water and sewer department. The project will divert water from the obsolete cuts into natural river bends, restoring a more natural flow to the entrances of the three creeks. This will improve the natural flushing of the system and make for cleaner water coming into the city plant, Jue said. The project has been talked about for years as natural resource agencies watched freshwater marshes along the river dwindle. Carl Hall, a striped bass expert for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the restoration will prevent miles of small creeks from being lost to fishermen due to silt buildup.