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Board Approved 2010 Regional Water Supply Plan
Volumes
Board Approved 2010 Regional Water Supply Plan
Appendices
- 4-1 Reclaimed Water — Existing and Future by County
- 4-2 Planning Region Summary Table — Savings, Cost Effectiveness and Costs by Use Sector
- 4-3 Non-Agricultural Conservation Data Source, Utility Costs and Savings by County
- 4-4 Non-Public Supply Industrial⁄Commercial, Mining, Power Generation Data Source for Costs and Savings by County
- 4-5 Non-Public Supply Recreational ⁄ Aesthetic Data Source for Costs and Savings by County
- 4-6 Description of the Conservation Planning Model
- 4-7 Criteria for Determining Potential Water Availability for Rivers
2010 Draft Public Comments and District Responses
Previous Regional Water Supply Plans
RWSP home | Northern Region | Tampa Bay Region | Heartland Region | Southern Region
Southern Planning Region
The Southern Planning Region encompasses approximately 2,465 square miles, covering all of Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties and the portion of Charlotte County that lies within the District. Land-use types range from urban/built-up areas such as the cities of Bradenton and Sarasota to predominantly agricultural land uses in the inland portions of Manatee and Charlotte counties.
The southern portion of Tampa Bay, the northern portion of Charlotte Harbor and all of Sarasota Bay are major surface water features in the planning region. The planning region contains all or part of seven major watersheds including the Braden, Manatee, Myakka and Peace rivers, Myakkahatchee Creek (a tributary to the Myakka River), and Horse and Shell creeks (tributaries to the Peace River).
There are many smaller tributaries to these larger systems as well as several coastal watersheds drained by many small tidally influenced or intermittent streams. The Braden, Manatee and Peace rivers and Myakkahatchee and Shell creeks are utilized as public water supply sources. There are only a few named lakes in the planning region. These include Upper and Lower Myakka lakes and Lake Manatee, an in-stream reservoir on the Manatee River. There is one second-magnitude spring located within the planning region (Warm Mineral Springs). Portions of the region are dominated by extensive hardwood swamps, wet prairies and isolated wetlands.
Three principal aquifer systems (surficial, intermediate and Upper Floridan) are present in the planning region and are used as water supply sources. The 2005–2030 increase in water demand in the Southern Planning Region is projected to be nearly 82 million gallons per day (mgd). As of 2010, it is estimated that at least 66 percent of that demand (54 mgd) has either been met or will be met by projects that meet the District’s definition of being “under development.” The majority of the remaining demand could be met by some combination of projects that will develop surface and reclaimed water, brackish groundwater, and through non-agricultural water conservation. Reductions in agricultural water demand will be very significant in the planning region due to the District’s focus on reducing agricultural runoff in the Shell, Prairie, Joshua and upper Myakka River watersheds. The projected reduction in agricultural groundwater use resulting from conservation measures and land-use transitions could be permanently retired to achieve the saltwater intrusion minimum aquifer level in the planning region. It could also allow for the development of a limited amount of fresh groundwater by mitigating predicted impacts to the Upper Floridan aquifer.
