The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board today approved a project that will reduce groundwater pumping and stormwater runoff at Parke Family Hydrofarm.
The project involves building a half-acre tower hydroponic section. Tower hydroponics is a farming method that involves planting crops in containers and using drip irrigation to deliver water and nutrients to the center of the stacked containers so each plant’s roots are sufficiently saturated. There is no runoff from this irrigation system.
The farm currently has a half-acre tower hydroponic section, in addition to approximately 25 acres that are used for conventional farming. Strawberries are grown in the fall and winter and vegetable row crops are grown in the summer. Using conventional farming methods, approximately 9,000 plants can be grown on a half-acre of land. Approximately 60,000 plants can be grown on a half-acre of land using tower hydroponics.
The water required for an acre of hydroponics is 5,000 gallons per day (gpd) while 33,600 gpd is needed for an acre of conventional farmland. That’s a savings of 28,600 gpd. Once the project is complete, the permitted quantities that serve this acre will be reduced to 6,000 gpd.
The Parke Family Hydrofarm is located in Dover, which is within the Northern Tampa Bay Water Use Caution Area (NTBWUCA.) A water use caution area is a designated area established in response to District studies which indicate that overuse may result in saltwater intrusion or threatened groundwater resources. The Dover-Plant City area is a concern within the NTBWUCA because of the potential for significant aquifer drawdowns that occur during frost/freeze pumping events.
In addition to reducing daily water use, additional water will not be needed to protect the plants on this half-acre during frost/freeze events. The hydroponic stacked towers use freeze cloth instead of water to protect the plants from freezing; it will not require groundwater to be pumped for freeze protection.
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 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 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA.) The FARMS Program is expected to reduce groundwater pumping by 40 million gallons per day over the next 20 years.
Projects such as the Parke Family Hydrofarm, which are outside the SWUCA, may be able to receive funding from the appropriate Basin Board.
This project is expected to cost $150,000, of which up to $112,500 will be funded by the District’s Governing Board, the District’s Hillsborough River Basin Board and state appropriations.