The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a project to reduce groundwater pumping at a DeSoto County farm.
The Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program is a cost-share reimbursement program that conserves water and protects water quality.
The FARMS project at Island Grove Agricultural Products, Inc. is located on its 57-acre blueberry farm in the Joshua Creek Watershed. The property drains to Hog Bay Slough, a tributary of Joshua Creek, which is one of the priority watersheds for the FARMS program.
This project will reduce mineralized groundwater withdrawals by using surface water from an existing stormwater collection reservoir.
“It will also increase irrigation efficiency through use of innovative technology such as automated pump controls, soil moisture and weather monitoring devices to reduce overall irrigation and extend surface water resources,” said Eric DeHaven, Resource Conservation and Data director.
The FARMS program is jointly funded by state appropriations, the District’s General Fund, the District’s Alafia River, Peace River and Manasota basin boards, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
A total of 2.5 million gallons per day (gpd) of ground water has been conserved through operational FARMS projects. It is anticipated that a total of 8.1 million gpd of ground water will be offset once all 25 current Board-approved FARMS projects are operational. The FARMS Program is expected to reduce groundwater pumping by 40 million gallons per day over the next 20 years.