Legislation to upgrade water infrastructure across Coastal Georgia passes Senate

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The U.S. Senate passed the Water Resource Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), Thursday, Dec. 19, sending the bill to the White House with several Georgia priorities.

Those priorities include directing the Army Corps of Engineers to study further deepening and widening the Port of Savannah to accommodate larger vessels.

In January 2024, Senator Warnock led the Georgia delegation in a letter to key leaders requesting support for this study authorization.

Key wins secured by Warnock for the Coastal Georgia area include the following:

• Savannah Harbor Deepening Feasibility Study: Provision directing the Corps to study further deepening and widening the Port of Savannah.

• Coastal Georgia Environmental Infrastructure: Authorizes $50 million for the Corps to provide drinking water and wastewater infrastructure assistance in Georgia’s coastal communities, providing those most impacted by climate change and sea level rise with another tool to address their water infrastructure needs. (in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, and McIntosh counties.)

• City of Tybee Island Shoreline Feasibility Study: This provision authorizes the Corps to study the federal interest in a new beach nourishment project along Tybee Island.

• New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (NSBLD): Directs the Corps to fully repair the NSBLD to ensure it can maintain the pool at a desired level, as well as construct an off-channel rock ramp fish passage structure.

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