The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that could replenish the Floridan aquifer by up to two to three million gallons of water per day (mgd).
The project involves the development of an alternative water supply at CF Industry’s South Pasture mine, located in Hardee County. The plan is to capture excess surface water and storm water at the mine and route it through a constructed wetlands treatment area, and then to a sand filtration basin for final treatment.
The goal is to treat the water to drinking standards so that it could then be injected into the Upper Floridan aquifer to increase water levels and provide additional water to help meet local and regional water demands.
The project plans to construct an Upper Floridan aquifer recharge well capable of recharging two to three mgd.
This project is part of the District’s Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) Recovery Strategy. The SWUCA is an eight-county, 5,000 square mile area extending from Hillsborough and Polk counties in the north to Charlotte County in the south. It was established in response to District studies that indicated overuse and the resulting saltwater intrusion threatened groundwater resources there.
The total estimated cost of the project is $4.5 million over a two-year period. It will be cooperatively funded by CF Industries, the District’s Governing Board, Peace River Basin Board, Alafia River Basin Board and Manasota Basin Board.
This project is pending approval from the District’s Peace River Basin Board, Alafia River Basin Board and Manasota Basin Board, which is expected in December.