With a new year upon us, perhaps also there is a changing in the way progress is made.

A case in point is the deal between Springfield, the Industrial Development Authority and Effingham County that would provide all the water needed for the IDA’s I-16 project with DP Partners, give the county an increase in its water allotment and allow Springfield to move its two wells out of the so-called “red zone.”

The master plan drawn up by the three entities calls for Springfield to move its wells north of Highway 119 and out of the state Environmental Protection Division’s red zone, where additional water withdrawals are capped.

The LogistiCenter — DP Partners’ name for their venture at the intersection of I-16 and Old River Road — is more than four miles away from existing county water lines. Extending those lines there to provide the 150,000 gallons a day needed at the park’s buildout would be too costly, so it was time to get creative — and to get to working together.

“I have to compliment everyone there. They all put aside their personal issues,” County Engineer Steve Liotta said.

With the EPD’s blessing, Springfield will start to design a new well and the lines from that well to the main storage tank and also to the existing industrial park on Highway 21. The city’s two wells south of 119, one at the industrial park and one just a few hundred yards from 119, will be used for emergency backups only after the new well is finished.

Since the coastal water management plan, stemming from saltwater intrusion elsewhere, calls for water withdrawal permit holders to revert to their 2004 levels of use, Springfield is asking the state to transfer that amount to the county. Springfield is projecting a need of 1.2 millions of gallons per day by 2020, and its plan to pull its wells north of 119 is expected to meet that need. It’s also increasing the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant to 1.5 million gallons per day.

Meanwhile, the county expects to get an allotment far above the 21,000 gallons per day it pumped in 2004 and the IDA — which is paying $1 million toward the new Springfield well — gets the water it needs for its massive project. The deal took some urging and prodding, but once everyone realized they stood to benefit in one way, shape or form, they were all on board.

If only getting Chatham County to go along with the Effingham Parkway Extension were as easy. Chatham planning officials say they have other road projects to tend to first. But the Effingham Parkway Extension — that portion that will actually be in Chatham — will serve residents of its burgeoning Westside. Effingham residents going to work in and around Savannah every day stuck in traffic on Highway 21 are joined by those in Port Wentworth living west of I-95.

The new road will alleviate the congestion the residents of both counties run into. Port Wentworth has backed the Effingham Parkway Extension. The state wants to do what it can. The county’s legislative delegation is pushing as hard as it can. And Effingham officials shouldn’t give up trying to press the matter with their brethren to the east.

Maybe they’ll see that working together to solve a problem beats not working together at all.