Georgia Southern receives over 2 million for coastal Georgia safe water research and education

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgia Southern University announced Monday that they’ll be receiving $2.04 million in federal funding to support the Institute for Water and Health’s (IWH) Safe Water Together initiative. This allocation, secured by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, underscores a commitment to ensuring sustainable access to safe water among coastal Georgia communities.

“The Safe Water Together project will unite partners across a wide range of networks – including municipalities, environmental agencies, businesses, school districts, and local communities – to collaboratively address current challenges to water resources through research and education, and to apply innovative approaches to water quality diagnostics,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “This new initiative will allow Georgia Southern to further our reach and our impact — all to better serve the people who live and work in Georgia.”

The Safe Water Together initiative will engage partners from various sectors to tackle issues stemming from the region’s rapid population growth and economic development, its aging infrastructure, the longstanding presence of natural and man-made contaminants, and saltwater intrusion into the Floridan aquifer. By leveraging cutting-edge water quality diagnostics, the program aims to serve the unique needs of local communities while providing a model for public-private partnership solutions.

“The institute for water and health is located in a region where there are so many different issues happening in terms of water and health. We have increasing population - that means a lot of water demand. We also have sea level rise and salt water intrusion. We also have communities that need to have access to safe water,” said Asli Aslan, Director, Institute for Water and Health.

“To make sure that we are going to have drinking water for all this explosion of growth that we’re having in this reason. You know, we got a lot of challenges ahead of us, and this is the kind of investment we need to be making,” said Rep. Buddy Carter, Georgia District 1.

The funding announcement took place during a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of the IWH. It’s a 6,000 square foot facility in Savannah on the Armstrong Campus that enhances the Institute’s capacity to provide timely and accurate water analyses and solutions for coastal communities.