The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at Royce Ranch.
The project involves installing a weather station, soil moisture sensors and automated pump controls at the citrus farm owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which funds the purchase of state parks and other state lands. Royce Ranch is located in central Highlands County.
Installing a weather station helps farmers irrigate more precisely, based on weather conditions. For example, during frost-freeze events the farmer has exact data for the area and can turn on his pumps at the appropriate time instead of pumping all night.
Installing soil moisture sensors and automated pump controls increases irrigation efficiency by only turning on when water is needed.
The goal of this project is to reduce pumping from the upper Floridan aquifer. Two Floridan wells and one surficial well are used for irrigation at Royce Ranch. According to reported data, an average of 175,000 gallons per day (gpd) is used to irrigate the 189 acres of citrus. The project is expected to reduce pumping by 10 percent.
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 within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA.)
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 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 $70,000, of which up to $35,000 will be funded by the District’s Governing Board, the District’s Peace River Basin Board and state appropriations. The remaining funds will come from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS)/Citrus Research and Education Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.