A 300-mile Journey from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean
 From Revolutionary times until the advent of railroads the Savannah River was an important transportation corridor. Today it is a source of water for drinking and industrial use, a vehicle for waste disposal, and a force for power generation. Dams have created huge lakes where people fish, boat, wind surf, etc. on the waters of the Savannah.
The headwaters of the Savannah River originate in the mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia near Ellicott Rock, the point where the three states meet. In the western part of the upper basin the Chatooga and the Tallulah Rivers meet to form the Tugaloo River. In the eastern part, the confluence of Twelve Mile Creek and the Keowee River form the Seneca River. In the upper reaches of Lake Hartwell the Seneca and Tugaloo Rivers join to form the Savannah River.
From its headwaters to the Atlantic Ocean (near Savannah, Georgia) the Savannah River travels about 300 miles and drains a watershed of 10,577 square miles. It flows through four physiographic regions: Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, upper coastal plain and lower coastal plain. Ecosystems within the basin include agricultural systems, upland forests, bottomland hardwoods, pine plantations, free flowing streams, water impoundments (dams), swamps, and freshwater and marine marshes. Much of the water in the upper basin is retained in several large dams, including those forming Lake Hartwell, Lake Russell and Lake Thurmond. The lower part of the basin is characterized by a meandering course with few tributaries and slow currents. Tidal action influences water levels and flows about 45 miles upriver from the mouth.
Diverse Activities and Topography Lead to Many Types of Pollution
As one might imagine for a basin of this size with the variety of waters, land use activities, and changes in topography, there are many causes of water pollution and other environmental problems:
- Mercury contamination from a chlor-alkali plant in Augusta (Olin), emissions from coal fired furnaces and old medical incinerators, and waste from old textile factories
- Air pollution - Augusta continually fails to meet federal standards for clean air
- Inadequate coordination & enforcement of permits designed to limit pollutants discharged
- Harbor deepening in the Port of Savannah, which is nearly ecologically dead
- Storm water runoff that flushes gas & oil residue as well as eroded soil into the river
- Dams, which disrupt wildlife habitats and oxygen levels in the river
- Development too close to the water/lack of an effective buffer policy disrupts wetlands that are vital to wildlife and natural flood control
- Agricultural runoff, especially nitrogen and phosphates from fertilizers
- Dumping of industrial waste into city sewers, which are ill-equipped to treat it
- Saltwater intrusion - movement of saline water into freshwater, mostly caused by construction of channels or ground-water pumping.
- Abandoned boats that leak contaminants
Click to view a map of the entire Savannah River Basin
The ability of the Savannah River to sustain so much life is truly remarkable. The Savannah Riverkeeper needs your help in identifying causes of water pollution and in supporting efforts to ensure a healthy future for the river.
Other Savannah River Ecology fun facts/resources |
