The St. Johns River Water Management District extends from the Florida-Georgia border to south of Vero Beach.
by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When the public was informed Wednesday that Central Florida was looking to tap into the St. Johns River by the hundreds of millions of gallons annually, residents of Northeast Florida shouldn’t have been surprised. At Thursday’s Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting, St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Executive Director Kirby Green explained why.
Green warned the Commission that if the Northeast Florida area didn’t start taking water conservation and reclamation seriously, there could be catastrophic issues by the year 2030.
“The public demand for water will double by the year 2025,” said Green, explaining that based on current growth and growth estimates, this area will be using 100-200 million gallons of water a day. Couple that with Central Florida’s desire to use water from the St. Johns River and two of its tributaries — the Ocklawaha River and the Taylor Creek Reservoir — and Northeast Florida may be facing a serious potable water shortage in the future.
Green said there are several keys to preventing a debilitating water shortage. First and foremost, he said, is for the utilities within the SJRWMD to form a partnership with the focus being the reduction of water usage and the treatment of waste water. He said a similar situation occurred in Tampa, which spent 25 years and $30 million trying to solve. Eventually, the Tampa area utilities agreed that cooperation was the best way to preserve ground water reserves.
“This process will try to eliminate conflict and identify partners,” said Green, who has offered to appear before the Commission whenever asked in an effort to keep the Commission informed about the Water Management District’s progress in implementing its 20-year plan to conserve water and find creative ways to reclaim used water.
Green said locally the area will reach its sustainable limits of usable water by 2013. After that, the SJRWMD will not issue any new permits for ground water withdrawals unless major progress has been made. Green said the biggest problem in Jacksonville is the misuse of potable water.
“Fifty percent of the potable water is used for irrigation and other uses outside the home,” said Green. “It’s getting to the point where that will not be acceptable.”
The most plausible solution — and one that may delay major issues by several years — is for Jacksonville to make better use of its reclaimed water. According to Green, Jacksonville only uses about 7 percent of its reclaimed water compared to Orlando and Tampa which, he says, use 100 percent of its reclaimed water for things like irrigation of golf courses and public land.
Green’s presentation included three alternative water source options — brackish ground water, surface water (the St. Johns River and two tributaries) and the construction of desalination plants — all of which are expensive and create their own unique environmental issues. He said the most cost-effective method of saving water would be to tap the aquifer, treat that water and then store it in the pocket created by the withdrawal of the water.
“What does that withdrawal do to the environment? How much can you take and not hurt the environment?” he said. “The local community must come up with a plan within the next two years to be prepared for the year 2013.”
Commissioner Steve Nichols wanted to know realistically how far beyond 2013 the area could survive. Green said about 2030, “After that, you’ll have to find another water source.”
Green said the key to immediately addressing the issue is to change the philosophy of the developers and the homeowners. He said a shift from heavily-sodded lawns to water-friendly landscaping would help as would assuring homes are built under the Water Star guidelines.
“Builders in the Jacksonville area have embraced that concept,” said Green, adding using Water Star guidelines can reduce consumption by about one-third.
In other news from the meeting:
• Waterways Coordinator Jim Suber gave a presentation about moored and anchored vessels. Suber said the vessels with what are known as “live-aboards” aren’t the problem. It’s the derelict and moored vessels that are simply rotting away into the river and Intracoastal Waterway that are becoming navigation and environmental problems.
“The Ortega River has the largest volume,” said Suber, explaining that waste issues are one of the biggest problems with anchored and moored vessels. Leaking fuel, on the other hand, is the biggest problem with derelict vessels.
Suber said you have to catch people in the act of not properly disposing of waste to actually prove anything. Also, state laws are vague concerning moored and anchored vessels.
“Some and well-maintained, some are not visited in over a year,” he said. “There’s a fine line between an anchored vessel and a derelict vessel.
Suber said he just got a grant that will help pay for the removal of four derelict vessels. Three are in the Trout River and one is in the Intracoastal near Atlantic Boulevard.
“One is almost part of the river due to decay,” said Suber, who also provided pictures of the rotting, sinking vessels.
Suber said the city needs a program that helps make the owners of boats accessible. That way, if there’s a problem with the boat, the owner can be located and the problem can be addressed.
• The Commission also approved a little over $770,000 from the Southside Tax Increment District for improvements to the Southbank Riverwalk. Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Deputy Executive Director Paul Crawford said the funds would be used to examine the infrastructure of the Southbank Riverwalk. Crawford said given the current problems with the Northbank Riverwalk, the City wants to be “proactive and identify issues” before it proceeds on Southbank Riverwalk renovations.
• Thursday’s meeting was the first for new commissioner Penny Thompson of Shands Jacksonville.
• The next meeting is Oct. 4.