The mayor and aldermen of Savannah, Georgia, adopted a master bond resolution June 11 authorizing up to $357.5 million in water and sewer revenue bonds, issued over three years. The bonds are meant to finance a slate of system upgrades across the city.
The authorization underwrites a capital program of about $343.6 million in new water and sewer projects through Dec. 31, 2028. The city’s capital project schedule names the specific work the program will fund, spanning wastewater treatment plants, sewer lines, water distribution and overall system technology.
One of the largest program items is the planned renovation and construction at the Georgetown wastewater facility on the city’s south side. According to officials, a new water treatment plant will be built there, along with related upgrades. The project will receive about $125 million over three years.
The next highest line item in the capital plan is the second phase of a large sewer project at Travis Field, coming in at about $100 million over a period of two years. Next, heavy work is expected at the President Street water reclamation facility, which has most its upgrades scheduled for later years in the bond cycle.
Work there includes upgrades to the plant’s treatment processes, including primary and secondary clarifiers, an aeration basin, bar screens, influent pumps and effluent diffusers. The work also covers a reuse water system, solids gasification and laboratory and office upgrades.
Along with water treatment and reclamation, the plan also calls for upgrades to how the city monitors water usage. About $17 million is earmarked over three years to replace conventional meters with remotely read smart meters.
Beyond the major projects, the schedule also funds a range of smaller but system-wide improvements. These include upgrades at the Wilshire and Crossroads reclamation facilities, ongoing rehabilitation of lift stations, mainlines and aging sewer lines, recurring treatment plant expansions and general maintenance across the system. It also includes compliance work tied to replacing lead infrastructure based on federal requirements.
Officials tie the infrastructure program to needed sewer treatment capacity and stricter standards on wastewater discharge pollutant levels. The plan also anticipates that the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD) will further restrict the city’s groundwater withdrawals, increasing reliance on purchased surface water and adding pressure on the system.
The bonds are issued as revenue bonds, not general obligations, so repayment will come from utility charges rather than property taxes. Officials have noted that the plan takes current utility rates into account, and the plan’s cost is built into the city’s adopted rate plan rather than added on top of it.
The first bond sale is anticipated in August of this year. The program scope spans engineering, treatment plant construction and expansion, conveyance, metering technology and system controls.
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