“The upper Floridan aquifer, which supplies every municipal water supplier in Central Florida, is expected to hit its sustainable yield at 760 million gallons per day in the year 2025, she said. Beyond that level of flow, other sources of water for municipalities will need to be found.”
“The City of Winter Springs is currently allowed by the St. Johns River Water Management District to pump 4.15 million gallons of potable drinking water per day. That will drop to 4.14 million gallons per day from 2023 until Jan. 12, 2030. The city is also allowed to draw reclaimed water for irrigation from Lake Jesup and other groundwater sources up to 2.23 million gallons per day until April 10, 2027. The last time the city revised its water supply plan was 2017.”
“The city’s current potable water pumping capacity is more than double what it is allowed, and the city has been pushing initiatives to reduce consumption by residents and businesses. “
“To combat the city being close to its potable usage limits, the city expects to offset 50 million gallons per year of potable water used for irrigation within a year by adding in more neighborhoods connected to the city’s reclaimed water lines. Meanwhile, the city is looking for other possible water sources.”
“The ghost of an out-of-control ground water leak that’s dumping an estimated 333,000 gallons of water per day into Lake Jesup took up another nearly 15 minutes of discussion as the city and engineers talked about the potential of the artesian well in the Parkstone neighborhood. An unconfirmed source of water flowing into a small pond there spills into Seminole County’s second largest lake.Winter Springs Public Works and Utilities Director Jason Norberg said the leaking water is likely originating from the same North Floridan Aquifer that supplies the drinking water throughout Central Florida.”
“If there is an ability to control and contain it then that allows them to stop this potential problem that the community has, along with the potential to save that water from running off into the river.”
Scott Richards of Carollo Engineers said.
Boyle said the city has a permit to use the water from that natural well, if it’s determined to be possible, until 2027.
Read Full Article
