New monitors in Ogeecheeton, West Savannah and Old West Lathrop track factory dust, with Woodville next. How to check the air near you today.

Three new air quality monitors went up this week in neighborhoods on Savannah’s west side. A fourth is planned at the Woodville Community Center. The sensors are meant to measure dust blowing off industrial sites, a problem residents have raised for years.

The monitors are in Ogeecheeton, West Savannah and Old West Lathrop, the city said in a news release Friday. The Ogeecheeton sensor stands at the intersection of Julia Law and Dempsey streets. Researchers met residents at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church before assembling it.

Who is behind it

The sensors are part of the Savannah Air Quality Monitoring Network. The partners are:

  • the City of Savannah
  • Harambee House, a Savannah nonprofit focused on environmental justice
  • Georgia Tech’s CEAR Hub, a coastal resilience research group
  • researchers from MIT, who joined in 2026 to help choose sites, test equipment and set up data storage

The city said it has worked with Harambee House and the CEAR Hub on air monitors in heavily polluted areas since 2018. A community advisory board of residents helps decide where the sensors go, according to the CEAR Hub.

What the sensors measure

Residents and neighborhood leaders in greater West Savannah named two main sources of pollution, the city said: fugitive dust and traffic exhaust. Fugitive dust is fine particles from open-air sources such as cement and concrete plants and other industrial sites. The new wireless sensors run on solar power and collect data in real time.

This first round targets factory pollution. Truck exhaust comes next.

“We’re starting with sensors that focus on pollution from factories, and we’ll soon deploy monitors to measure truck emissions,” said Jill Gambill, executive director of the CEAR Hub at Georgia Tech.

City District 1 Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier said residents have complained of breathing problems and of dust escaping from industrial sites into their neighborhoods.

“This area has been plagued by these air pollution issues for years,” Lanier said.

The city said more sensors may follow, based on what residents ask for. It did not say when data from the new monitors will be published.

How to check the air near you now

You do not have to wait for the new network. These sources are public today:

  • AirNow, the federal air quality site, gives the current Air Quality Index for Savannah.
  • Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division runs two official monitors in the city, according to the CEAR Hub. The Savannah L&A monitor, near Woodville, measures fine particles and sulfur dioxide. The Savannah East President monitor, near Pine Gardens, measures ozone and sulfur dioxide.
  • PurpleAir sensors that Harambee House and the CEAR Hub have placed in neighborhoods near the port since 2018 show on the PurpleAir map. Many of the older units are being replaced, the CEAR Hub said.

What it means for you

If you live in Ogeecheeton, West Savannah, Old West Lathrop or Woodville, there is now, or soon will be, a monitor near your home. You can tell the project about pollution you notice, such as a dust source or a spot where the air is worse. You can also apply to join its community advisory board. Both links are on the CEAR Hub’s project page.

See our Savannah neighborhoods guide for more on the west side.