Pembroke residents will get a chance to learn about the city’s eight-year, $2 million water improvement project during a public hearing next week.

That project, which began in 2012 and was funded by a USDA community development grant, is now finished. It more than doubles the city’s water storage capacity while significantly expanding the amount of groundwater Pembroke is allowed to pump from the Floridan aquifer – from 250 million gallons per day to 400 MGD, officials say.

It includes a new well about a quarter-mile across the Bulloch County line outside the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s yellow zone, according to City Administrator Alex Floyd.

Bryan County is inside the EPD’s yellow zone, which means it cannot pump more water inside the county than it is currently allocated from the aquifer due to concerns the area’s rapid population growth is causing saltwater intrusion into the aquifer.

The new well will fill the city’s new 140,000 gallon water tank, which will give Pembroke two tanks capable of storing roughly 260,000 gallons of water, in addition to the $2 million, the project spanned the administration of two mayors – current mayor Judy Cook and her predecessor, Mary Warnell - and three city administrators, Floyd said. The increased capacity gives the city, which has about 1,100 water customers, more room for commercial and residential growth.

The hearing is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday on the front lawn at City Hall.