The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board Tuesday approved the third phase of a project that will reduce groundwater pumping at a citrus grove in Charlotte County.
TRB Groves, LLC is a 1,113-acre citrus grove located just north of Myrtle Slough which is in the Shell Creek watershed and the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA).
The project, which was implemented in three phases, includes the construction of a 68-acre surface water irrigation reservoir, retrofitting two surface water irrigation pump stations and efficiently controlling irrigation through the operation of automated pumps controlled by soil moisture probes and rain-monitoring devices.
The project will allow TRB Groves to re-use surface water, reducing the amount of ground water needed, which will lead to a reduction in pumping from the upper Floridan aquifer. It also allows the grove manager to monitor and control the irrigation system and be as efficient as possible with water usage.
The water use permit allows the grove to use an average of 1,270,000 gallons per day (gpd) to irrigate. The first two phases of this project have offset 366,269 gpd of ground water over the past 12 months. This is a savings above the original projections. When the third phase is complete, the project is expected to reduce pumping by 1,007,000 gpd, or 83 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 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 phase of the project is expected to cost $1 million, of which up to $750,000 will be funded by the District’s Governing Board, Peace River Basin Board and state appropriations.