The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a water use permit to increase the City of Lake Alfred’s water supply to 1.38 million gallons of water daily (mgd). The previous annual average permitted quantity was 1 mgd.
This permit provides water for both public supply and agricultural purposes. The modified permit will increase groundwater supply for residential use and decrease its proportion for agricultural purposes.
A small portion of the permitted quantities will be used to supplement the irrigation of a 151-acre citrus grove. Most of the irrigation will be provided by reclaimed water from the City. Lake Alfreds wastewater treatment facility will be expanded to increase its supply of reuse water from 350,000 gallons per day to 1 mgd. With the planned increase, the City expects to use reclaimed water for the irrigation of residential communities, the cemetery and other major users as resources become available.
Reclaimed water is wastewater that has received at least secondary
treatment and is used for a beneficial purpose, such as irrigation. By
offsetting demand for ground water and surface water, this alternative, non-traditional water source reduces stress on environmental systems, provides economic benefits by delaying costly water system expansions, and eliminates the need to discharge wastewater effluent to surface waters.