Water Quality Tool Set for Coastal Georgia Onsite Wastewaster Treatment System Planning.

The population in coastal Georgia is growing at a significant rate. Coastal cities have limited funding and time to upgrade their municipal treatment plant infrastructure to counter the rise in population. Therefore, onsite septic disposal systems (OSDS) have and will continue to be heavily permitted. These systems have the potential to greatly impair water quality if not maintained, leaching dangerous levels of bacteria and nitrogen, thus causing serious health issues to both humans and wildlife.

 With growing concerns, it is extremely important to establish a water quality assessment plan to enable better public health planning. The University of Georgia Marine Extension Service and project partners conducted a survey of geo-locating and inspecting on-site disposal systems in proximity of state waterways of coastal Georgia. The data was transferred to the WelSTROM (Well and Septic Tank Referencing and Online Mapping) GIS database. From information analyzed through this database, a pilot study has begun to assess water quality in OSDS densities within Glynn County, GA. A nonpoint source transport model will be developed from utilization of project data. Another study has begun to determine nitrogen fate and transport in coastal Georgia soils on a mounded onsite septic system, a new technology implemented in the region. The soils project will produce a 2-D Hydrus model. The process of geolocating systems, evaluating water quality in system densities and the development of both a water quality and soil transport model will create a powerful toolset in determining pollution susceptibility in Coastal Georgia.