District Governing Board approves Regional Water Supply Plan

Collaborative plan addresses long-term water supply needs

PALATKA, Fla., Feb. 14, 2022 — The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board approved a regional water supply plan to address current and long-term water supply needs in the Central Springs/East Coast (CSEC) region on Tuesday.

Regional water supply plans identify needs and recommend strategies for meeting future water demands of urban and agricultural uses, as well as the environment. The planning process highlights areas where current sources of water will not meet future demands and evaluates alternative water source options, including water conservation, to meet those demands. Required by state law, the plans are based on a 20-year outlook and must be updated every five years.

The CSEC Planning Area is one of three planning regions within the St. Johns River Water Management District and includes part or all of the following six counties:  Volusia, Marion, Lake, Brevard, Indian River and Okeechobee.

The plan approved by the Governing Board is a collaborative p-rocess among the District, local governments, public supply utilities, environmental advocates and other interested stakeholders and is based on a planning horizon through 2040. It identifies water conservation potential and water supply and water resource development project options that can meet future water demand while sustaining water resources and related natural systems.

Water supply planning is an ongoing process with enhanced scientific methodologies and new data acquired regularly. The District is already working on the science and data collection for the CSEC RWSP five-year update.

Visit  www.sjrwmd.com/water-supply/planning/csec-rwsp/#overview for more information about the regional water supply planning process.