Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs, GA water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
Sandy Springs is a mid-sized city and the 5th-largest in Georgia, home to roughly 105,330 residents. Sandy Springs's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve Georgia: Chattahoochee River, Lake Lanier, and Floridan aquifer.
As elsewhere in Georgia, the central challenge is drought. Decades of 'water wars' litigation with Alabama and Florida over the Chattahoochee shape metro Atlanta's supply planning.
Georgia reuses an estimated 11% of its treated wastewater and maintains developing reuse programs; Sandy Springs tracks severe to extreme drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the Georgia profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Sandy Springs below.
At a glance
- Population ~105,330 (5th-largest in Georgia)
- Primary sources: Chattahoochee River, Lake Lanier, and Floridan aquifer
- Drought: severe to extreme conditions
- State reuse rate: ~11% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of Georgia in severe+ drought (Extreme (D3) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Sandy Springs?
Sandy Springs is served by community water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Statewide, 9.9% of Georgia's systems have a recent health-based violation. Check your provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report for local results.
Where does Sandy Springs get its water?
Sandy Springs draws from the same regional sources that serve Georgia: Chattahoochee River, Lake Lanier, Floridan aquifer.
Related water issues
Drought
Much of the American West is in a multi-decade dry period that researchers describe as the most severe in over a millennium, reshaping how communities plan for water.
ExploreAgricultural Demand
Agriculture accounts for the majority of consumptive water use in the West, making farm efficiency and water markets central to any supply solution.
ExploreAging Infrastructure
Much of America's water infrastructure is decades past its design life, leaking trillions of gallons a year and demanding hundreds of billions in reinvestment.
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