Augusta’s Water Source: The Savannah River
Augusta, Georgia — the state’s second-largest city — gets its drinking water from the Savannah River. That river also happens to flow past the Savannah River Site (SRS), one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s most significant nuclear weapons production facilities, located about 15 miles upstream from the city’s water intake.
The Augusta Utilities Department operates a conventional surface water treatment plant that processes Savannah River water for roughly 200,000 residents in the metro area. The water meets federal drinking water standards. But the history of what’s entered that river over the past seven decades makes the source water story more complicated than most cities deal with.
The Savannah River Site
The Savannah River Site is a 310-square-mile DOE complex in Aiken, South Carolina — directly across the river from Augusta. Built in the early 1950s, SRS produced plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Five nuclear reactors operated on-site, along with chemical separation plants, fuel fabrication facilities, and waste management areas.
The environmental legacy includes:
- Tritium releases — SRS released tritium (radioactive hydrogen) into the Savannah River throughout its operational period. While releases have declined significantly since the 1960s peak, tritium continues to enter the river from groundwater seepage at the site.
- Heavy metals and radionuclides — Strontium-90, cesium-137, and various heavy metals have been detected in site groundwater and surface water outfalls.
- Chlorinated solvents — TCE and PCE contamination in groundwater at multiple areas across the site, with active pump-and-treat remediation.
- High-level radioactive waste — SRS stores approximately 36 million gallons of liquid radioactive waste in underground tanks, with an active vitrification (glassification) program to stabilize it.
DOE’s environmental monitoring program, overseen by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and EPA, tracks contaminant levels in the Savannah River both upstream and downstream of the site. Annual monitoring reports show that river water at the Augusta intake point contains measurable but low-level tritium — generally well below EPA’s drinking water standard of 20,000 picocuries per liter.
Fort Eisenhower (Formerly Fort Gordon)
Fort Eisenhower, the U.S. Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence located just southwest of Augusta, adds another layer. Like military installations nationwide, Fort Eisenhower used AFFF firefighting foam containing PFAS during training exercises and emergency response. The Department of Defense has been investigating PFAS contamination at installations across the country.
Specific PFAS sampling data for Fort Eisenhower’s groundwater has been part of the DoD’s ongoing installation-by-installation assessment program. Residents near the base who rely on private wells have reason to pay attention.
Industrial History
Beyond federal facilities, Augusta has its own industrial contamination legacy:
- Textile mills — Augusta was a major textile center through the 20th century. Mill operations used chlorinated solvents, dyes, and other chemicals, some of which contaminated local groundwater.
- Goldberg Brothers Superfund Site — A scrap metal and battery recycling operation in Augusta that left lead and acid contamination in soil and groundwater. Listed on the EPA’s National Priorities List.
- Southern Wood Piedmont Superfund Site — A wood treatment facility in nearby Augusta that used creosote and pentachlorophenol, contaminating soil and groundwater with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins.
Current Water Quality
Augusta Utilities’ treated water generally meets all federal and state drinking water standards. The city’s annual Consumer Confidence Report provides testing results for regulated contaminants.
The key concerns for Augusta residents are less about what’s in the treated tap water today and more about the cumulative burden on the source water:
- Low-level radionuclides from SRS that conventional water treatment may not fully remove
- Emerging contaminants like PFAS that weren’t regulated when the treatment plant was designed
- Climate-driven challenges — drought conditions reduce river flow and concentrate contaminants; flooding can mobilize contamination from historical sites
What Augusta Residents Can Do
Review the annual Consumer Confidence Report from Augusta Utilities for your specific water quality data. If you’re on city water, the treatment plant provides a significant barrier against most contaminants.
If you rely on a private well — particularly near Fort Eisenhower or any of the Superfund sites — get your water tested. Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division can point you to certified labs.
For residents who want an additional layer of protection against trace radionuclides, PFAS, or other emerging contaminants, a certified water treatment professional can evaluate your situation and recommend appropriate point-of-use systems.
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site Annual Environmental Reports; EPA Superfund site profiles for Goldberg Brothers and Southern Wood Piedmont; Georgia Environmental Protection Division; Augusta Utilities Department Consumer Confidence Reports.