Glynn County, Georgia: drinking water report. Glynn County on Georgia's coast has about 85,000 residents, including Brunswick and the Golden Isles.
Glynn County on Georgia's coast has about 85,000 residents, including Brunswick and the Golden Isles. The Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water and Sewer Commission draws from the Upper Floridan Aquifer – a massive limestone aquifer system that stretches beneath much of the Southeast. The county's industrial history includes the Hercules chemical plant and the former Terry Creek dredge spoil area, both of which have left contamination footprints.
The Hercules (now Pinova) plant manufactured toxaphene and other pesticides in Brunswick for decades. According to EPA records, the plant's waste disposal contaminated soil and groundwater with toxaphene, a persistent organic pollutant banned in 1990. The LCP Chemicals Superfund site on the Brunswick waterfront adds mercury and PCB contamination to the local environmental burden.
Saltwater intrusion threatens the Floridan Aquifer in Glynn County. A 2024 USGS monitoring report documented rising chloride concentrations in production wells along the coast, driven by decades of heavy pumping. The Georgia EPD has imposed pumping restrictions, but chloride levels in some wells have reached 150 mg/L – approaching the 250 mg/L secondary standard.
Glynn County faces a double challenge – industrial contamination from legacy chemical manufacturing and a declining aquifer under saltwater pressure. If your water has become harder or saltier over the past few years, that may reflect aquifer stress rather than a temporary condition.
Check your water for data specific to your address. For the combination of industrial contaminants and elevated minerals, reverse osmosis is the most versatile household solution. Our water filter guide covers coastal groundwater systems. Pull your detailed report for trend data, and visit our Georgia page for statewide patterns.