PALATKA, Fla. — The St. Johns River Water Management District has scheduled additional meetings to encourage public participation in the development of the District Water Supply Plan (DWSP) 2010 and review of the draft District Water Supply Assessment (WSA) 2008. A meeting is scheduled for Dec. 11 in Indian River County’s Commission Chambers.
The supply plan and supply assessments are being designed to meet the requirements of the water supply planning provisions of Florida Statutes.
The draft WSA 2008 includes projections of water use through the year 2030 and identifies areas where current and anticipated sources of water and conservation efforts will not be adequate to meet projected needs and sustain the water resources and related natural systems. These areas are called priority water resource caution areas.
Approximately 97 percent of the District’s 18-county region has been identified in the draft WSA 2008 as priority water resource caution areas or potential priority water resource caution areas. Through the planning process, the potential priority water resource caution areas will be refined to determine whether they are indeed areas of concern or should be reduced in scope.
There will be meetings throughout the state beginning Oct. 22 in Palatka to discuss the Northeast Florida water supply. Other meetings will be held in Volusia County, Green Cove Springs, and Orlando.
Water officials will meet in Indian River County Dec. 11 at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the Southern water supply planning area work group at the County Commission Chambers, 1801 27th St., Building A, in Vero Beach.
District objectives for the 2010 water supply planning process are to allow review and further evaluation of projected water resource impacts, finalize identification of priority water resource caution areas for the 2010 plan, complete WSA 2008 and include it as an appendix in the 2010 plan, identify strategies to prevent unacceptable impacts and incorporate these strategies into the 2010 plan.
Meeting dates are subject to change. Visit the District’s Web site at www.sjrwmd.com/watersupplyplanning/upcomingmeetings.html to verify meeting dates and visit www.sjrwmd.com/watersupplyplanning to learn more about the water supply planning process.
