State Sen. J.D. Alexander presented the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board with a ceremonial check for $15 million for the District’s West-Central Florida Water Restoration Action Plan (WRAP.)
Gov. Charlie Crist included WRAP in his budget request to the Legislature and Sen. Alexander and Rep. Bill Galvano carried the budget request successfully through the legislative process.
“Without the support of the Governor, Senator Alexander, Representative Galvano, and the other legislators throughout the District, we would not be able to move forward on this plan that will benefit the 1.5 million people who live in this region,” said Neil Combee, the District’s Governing Board chair.
This funding will help restore water quality and natural systems, and create sustainable water supplies in the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA), which includes all or part of Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota counties.
“I appreciate the opportunity to work with the District on the WRAP, a project that will ensure that our region is afforded sustainable water supplies and protects our natural resources,” said Alexander. “This is the first step and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the District for continued legislative funding for the WRAP.”
Water resource protection, restoration and sustainability are critical in the SWUCA region where decades of groundwater over-pumping have resulted in lowered aquifer levels leading to saltwater intrusion, reduced flows in the Peace River and lowered lake levels.
As a result of the WRAP, more than 1.5 million people in this region will benefit from water supply development and environmental restoration in the SWUCA. The region will gain 211 million gallons of water per day by 2025. Environmental restoration as well as additional water supplies will meet the growing demands of the region, sustaining its economic health.
Over the next 17 years, the WRAP will cost approximately $1.8 billion. Funding from state and federal sources will help offset 40 million gallons per day of ground water, reduce phosphorus by 50 to 80 percent in the Lake Wales Ridge through stormwater treatment, supply up to 19.5 billion gallons of new water storage capacity and restore surface water storage, flows and water quality in the Upper Peace River watershed.
The District has a number of partners in the WRAP, including the Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority, Polk County, the U.S. Congress, the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, other local governments and the agricultural community. These regional partnerships are critical to meeting future water supply demands and protecting the region’s natural resources.
To learn more about the projects included in the WRAP, visit the District’s web site atWaterMatters.org/projects/wrap/