Plant Vogtle is already one of the largest water users on the Savannah River

To Savannah officials, the cooling towers at the Vogtle nuclear power plant are beginning to look like enormous straws.

A proposed expansion of the plant would mean more water lost from the Savannah River for cooling.

Lots more.

“I look at it as an inter-basin transfer to outer space,” said Harry Jue, director of the Savannah Water and Sewer Bureau. “It’s not returned.”

Vogtle’s two reactors, which began operating in 1987 and 1989, draw about 69 million gallons of water a day from the river at the site in Waynesboro. About two-thirds of that evaporates. The rest is returned to the river.

Two new reactors are expected to increase the daily loss from the river to 70 million to 80 million gallons a day.

Jue said that’s enough water to supply Savannah for three to four days.

Last month, he submitted formal comments on the draft environmental impact statement for Vogtle’s early site permit in which he called for a better understanding of water supply and demand as well as quality on the river.

“Of particular concern to Savannah’s water supply is the flow of saltwater moving upriver as river flows decrease,” he wrote. “This situation will also be exacerbated by the proposed deepening of the Savannah Harbor from 42 feet to 48 feet.

“This saltwater conduit, low flows from reservoirs, consumptive use upstream, extreme astronomical tides and northeast winds could virtually shut down Savannah’s raw water intakes located at Mile 29 on the Savannah River.”

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division indicated in its comments that it will need to review Southern Nuclear’s application to take more water as it applies to water planning, water losses and contingencies needed to manage future droughts.

“We’d like to withhold final judgment until we get water withdrawal and discharge permits,” said Marlin Gottschalk, the agency’s policy coordinator.

Full Story: http://new.savannahnow.com/node/416375