by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. is preparing to wade into the state’s burgeoning water dispute.
JCCI’s Oct. 16, 5 o’clock Forum will bring together state, local and environmental interests to discuss Florida’s water rights. The growing regional dispute has threatened to explode into a North Florida/South Florida war since a real estate lobbying group recommended last week that a State water commission replace more local oversight of water resources.
If Gov. Jeb Bush follows the Florida Council of 100’s recommendation — the group is chaired by one of Bush’s biggest fund-raisers — North Florida could see a substantial portion of its water diverted south of Interstate 4, where more than 80 percent of the state’s water is consumed.
St. John’s Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon, one of the forum’s resource experts, said the debate has gathered surprising momentum since he took the riverkeeper job nine months ago.
Shortly after taking his position, he said, he was struck by a Jacksonville audience’s reaction to Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Struhs’ suggestion that the State may some day have to divert water south. Armingeon said “an audible gasp” echoed through the Osborn Center at the mere suggestion.
Just eight months later, a position paper from Kirby Green, the executive director of the St. Johns River Water Management District, sounded a more definitive note.
“Alternative [water] supplies . . . have been identified, but require regional cooperation to implement effectively,” according to the paper. “These include treated water from the St. Johns River system.”
From possibility to near policy, Armingeon said,Green’s paper was indicative of how fast the debate was evolving.
“From conceptual idea to reality, this is one of the fastest moving issues I’ve seen,” said Armingeon.
The debate had approached so quickly, Armingeon said, that many parties with a direct stake had not had the opportunity to assess the situation. He credited JCCI for providing a timely forum for questions to be asked, and he hopes, for answers to be provided.
That is exactly JCCI’s intent, said forum chair Mary Harvey. She said the resource experts were chosen to represent all sides of the issue and to engage one another in substantive discussion.
“This issue certainly has been somewhat controversial, but there’s no intent on our [JCCI] part to solve the problem,” said Harvey. “We simply want to facilitate discussion. We want to bring people with different minds and backgrounds together to talk about this topic.”
The forum is scheduled for 5 p.m. at JCCI’s Atlantic Boulevard offices. Harvey said she expects a large community turnout. Armingeon said the issue had the potential to substantially affect Duval County’s resources.
“This is part of a larger debate about sustainability; how many people can the St. Johns River accommodate before it affects the surrounding environment?” said Armingeon. “Are we going to jeopardize the people already living here to try to get more people to move down here? This is a significant debate in the history of this state.”