The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a nursery in southeastern Hillsborough County.
The project will connect an existing 1.5-acre surface water reservoir to the irrigation system at Spring Valley Tree Farm, a 15-acre container nursery located along State Highway 574, west of Plant City, which is part of the Northern Tampa Bay Water Use Caution Area.
The project will allow the Spring Valley Tree Farm to re-use surface water and tailwater recovered from the nursery, reducing the amount of groundwater needed, which will lead to a reduction in pumping from the upper Floridan aquifer.
The water use permit allows the nursery to use an average of 52,900 gallons per day (gpd) to irrigate the plants in containers. The project is expected to reduce pumping by 10,580 gpd, or 20 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.
The program began by funding projects within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA) and has expanded to include projects within the entire District.
The FARMS program is jointly funded by state appropriations, the District’s General Fund, 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 $92,500 of which up to $46,251 will be funded by the District’s Governing Board, Hillsborough River Basin Board and state appropriations.