Current Issues

Water Grab

It would seem that SJRWMD are playing win-win to get water from outside the district to underwrite over development within their district. Rather than develop their own in-district AWS. The strategy appears to be as follows:

• First, engage bordering districts to negotiate water transfers from less developed apparently water richer counties, as opposed to conserving supplies to allow water concurrency in harmony with population growth.

• Second, should that ruse fail to yield alternative water sources to SJRWMD, then solicit the State to allow more wells within the bounds of SJRWMD to take the water from the very same aquifer water sources of those bordering districts. Although it is likely they know that under current state law pumping more ground water has serious limitations. The Tampa Bay "water wars" in the late 90's stemmed from the environmental damage caused by over-pumping of ground water in Pasco County and resulted in the "Partnership Agreement" to develop alternative water supplies (AWS).

• Tactically, arrange for paid consultants to declare surface waters separate from the Local Sources First doctrine, to get opposing folks to the table in defense of their local water resources. Have consultants propose alternative water supplies from de-salination. in line reservoirs, re-use, and surpluses from "proxy" MFLs, in those regions outside SJRWMD that are targeted as AWS for SJRWMD cities and urban over-growth centers.

It would be win-win should adjacent districts either agree transfers, or, the State authorizes more wells into the common aquifer. However, any sign of environmental damage from excessive ground water withdrawals (from existing or new wells) will force implementation of other alternatives such as: conservation, re-use, inverted rates, desalination, reservoirs, etc.

The possibility of massive ground water withdrawals by St. John's gets everybody's attention, but that may be a little alarmist at this juncture.