Bulloch County’s part in the two-county Groundwater Sustainability Program, informally known as the Hyundai wells mitigation plan, is getting underway with county Planning and Development Director James Pope doubling as Bulloch’s well mitigation manager.

Pope had presented information and staff recommendations of some zoning matters – reflecting his usual role as head of the county Development Services office – earlier in the county commissioners’ April 1 meeting. He then introduced himself in this added new role of Groundwater Sustainability Program manager during “staff comments” time on the agenda.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, or EPD, in  issuing permits last year for the four large wells that Bulloch and Bryan  counties will operate to supply water to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, required the counties to set up a mitigation fund to pay for fixing or replacing any private deep wells that lose pressure or go dry within a five-mile radius of the Interstate 16-Georgia Highway 119 interchange, roughly the center point for the Hyundai supply wells. A typical remedy would be to lower the submersible pump in  a well.

The boards of commissioners in each county named three members and an alternate to a joint advisory committee for the Groundwater Sustainability Program. Bulloch County’s three committee members are Dr. Frank Davis III, Doug Lambert and Francisco J. Cubas, Ph.D. The county’s alternate is Marty Beasley. Cubas, an assistant professor in Georgia Southern’s Civil Engineering and Construction Department, teaches watershed management, among other courses. Beasley is a local well driller. Davis is a retired trauma surgeon, and Lambert, a business leader and developer.

But each county government has appointed its own mitigation manager, as also prescribed under the 25-year intergovernmental agreement that the elected county commissions approved in November and December. Bryan County’s mitigation manager is Paul Teague, the county’s senior engineering project manager.

“Our Well Mitigation Hotline is live,” Pope announced. “That’s put in place as a … number that if your groundwater well goes out after the date that our (county-owned) wells start withdrawing water from the aquifer, if your well goes out and you live in a five-mile area from I-16 and 119 … to dial 1-888-353-0820, and you can find that number as well on our website.”

Two somewhat different websites carry local information on the program. A site shared by the two counties, www.bryanbullochgsp.org, includes links to submit claims for wells in Bryan County or for wells in Bulloch County. In fact, there are separate links for claims involving a drinking water well or an agricultural (non-drinking water) well in either county.

Another website, or really a set of pages within the Bulloch County commissioners’ site, https://bullochcounty.net/groundwater-sustainability-program/  includes a link to register a well and also provides contact information for Pope and Teague.

Pope said he would prefer that anyone who has general questions about the mitigation program call the generic Bulloch County office number, 912-764-6245, instead of the “888” hotline, preserving that for calls about specific private wells, especially those that develop problems.

Well registration

Well registration isn’t just for problem wells, but for any privately owned wells within the five-mile radius, so that these can be qualified in advance for assistance if problems arise in the future. But well registration is a voluntary program, Pope noted.

In the absence of well registration, and with permits not having been required for many existing private wells, program officials don’t necessarily know who is a well owner and so are instead mailing notices to owners or occupants of land parcels identified within the five-mile radius from county tax maps.

“Out of … 1,039 parcels that were identified in our (Bulloch County) portion of the five-mile area, of that  total, we’ve now mailed out 875 letters to the residents. …,” Pope said Tuesday evening.  “So, about 160 letters left to go, but those will be out, probably tomorrow.”

So  far, only 27 well registrations had been received by Tuesday. Pope said he  had received at that point seven phone calls from people with questions about  the program. But it’s early yet.

April 14 meeting, workshop

The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting April 14, 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Bryan County Board of Education headquarters, 8810 U.S. Highway 280, in the Black Creek community. In fact, the building is the restored, historic Black Creek School.

“That committee meeting is open to the public,” said Pope.  “We wanted to find a facility within the target area, the five-mile area, a building large enough for the public to come. Unfortunately, we (Bulloch County) do not have any facilities down that way that can host that.”

Immediately following the committee meeting, the managers will host a public workshop about the program from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., also in the Bryan County BOE building.

“The  public workshop is really where, if you’re concerned about your water wells at your property and you think you live in the five-mile area or nearby – it’s open for anybody from the public to attend – but it’s primarily for those residents to come register their wells if they want to and just hear general information about the program and in the event that a well goes  down, what are you supposed to do,” Pope said.

The county isn’t paying him anything extra to be well mitigation manager, but he is to be compensated for materials used in the program and travel expenses.

Under the Groundwater Sustainability program document agreed to by the two counties, they are also to have at least three "responsive and experienced licensed local well drillers" on call to perform "approved mitigation measures."

As of Monday, Pope said, staff members had request for proposals drafted as they prepare to solicit on-call well drillers. They would be placed on retainer-like contracts.

Program and wells

The mitigation program is backed by a $1 million fund, supplied $250,000 each by the Development Authority of Bulloch County, Development Authority of Bryan County, Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority and Hyundai Motor Group.

Together, the four county-owned wells are permitted by the EPD to pump up to 6.625 million gallons per day over the course of a year. Bryan County’s two wells, together, are permitted to withdraw up to 3.5 mgd on a monthly and annual average. Bulloch County’s two wells are permitted for up to 3.5 mgd on a monthly average, but somewhat less, 3.125 mgd, as an annual average. Although two wells are owned by Bryan County, all four are geographically within Bulloch near the Bryan County line.

In a study summarized for the public in February 2024, EPD scientists predicted that, based on hydrologic modeling, the four large wells could draw down the water level in the deep Floridan aquifer by a maximum of 19 feet close to those wells. The “cone of depression” created by the withdrawal would slope upward from there, dropping the highwater mark about 10 feet at a five-mile distance from the wells, in the EPD’s projections.

All four wells have been drilled or are currently being drilled. But if any private wells have already developed problems, they apparently have other issues, because the county-owned wells aren’t operational yet.

With everything left to be completed, from the pipelines to well testing to having the mitigation program fully implemented as required, the first wells may begin pumping in mid-to-late July, Pope said Thursday.