A Southwest Florida Water Management District project will help a Citrus County blueberry farm improve water quality.
This project is part of the District’s Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program, which is a cost-share reimbursement program that conserves water and protects water quality.
The program began by funding projects within the District’s eight southern counties and has expanded to include projects within the entire District. This is the first FARMS project in the District’s northern region.
The main goal of this project is to prevent mineralized, or salty, groundwater runoff from draining into the Withlacoochee River. Hidden Acres Ranch, Inc. is located in Inverness near the river and the blueberry fields drain into a reservoir and ditch that connects directly to the river.
The project involves constructing a surface water irrigation pump station, filtration and installing the necessary piping to connect the surface water reservoir system to the farm’s existing irrigation system. This will allow the farm to use captured rainwater and recycled runoff for irrigation.
Under the current District-issued water use permit, the farm is allowed to pump up to 18,400 gallons per day (gpd) to irrigate 10 acres of blueberries. An additional benefit of the project includes a slight reduction in groundwater pumping as a result of using the reservoir to capture rainfall and irrigation runoff.
The FARMS program is jointly funded by state appropriations, the District’s Governing Board and the District’s Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Peace River, Manasota and Withlacoochee River Basin Boards, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The FARMS Program is expected to reduce groundwater pumping by 40 million gallons per day over the next 20 years.
This project is expected to cost $80,000, of which up to $40,000 will be funded by the District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board, the Governing Board and state appropriations.