Important Meeting – Let everyone know!

Public meeting on Jan. 28 to discuss planning for future water supplies

PALATKA, Fla., Jan. 13, 2010 – The St. Johns River and Suwannee River water management districts will hold a joint public meeting on Jan. 28 to encourage public participation in the development of the St. Johns District’s Water Supply Plan (DWSP) 2010 and the Suwannee District’s Upper Santa Fe River Basin Water Supply Plan.

The informational meeting with senior technical staff from both agencies will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Alachua County Health Department Auditorium, 224 S.E. 24th St., Gainesville.

The agenda includes an overview of the water supply planning process, discussion led by each of the water management districts on the water supply assessment in northeast Florida, and opportunity for public comment.

The St. Johns District’s Water Supply Plan 2010 and the Suwannee District’s Upper Santa Fe River Basin Water Supply Plan are designed to meet the requirements of the water supply planning provisions of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes.

Through meetings of the Northeast Florida Water Supply Planning Area Work Group, the planning process concentrates on a 10-county area including the eight St. Johns District counties in northeast Florida, as well as portions of Columbia and Union counties in the Suwannee District. Alachua, Bradford and Baker counties span both water management districts. The process is being coordinated with the Suwannee District and is an open public process involving local governments, water supply utilities, self suppliers, other governments and other interested parties.

The draft projections of water demand through the year 2030 and analysis of potential environmental impacts identifies areas in the St. Johns District where current and anticipated sources of water and conservation efforts may not be adequate to meet projected needs and sustain the water resources and related natural systems without causing unacceptable impacts, unless strategies are identified to assure that adequate and sustainable water supplies are available. Without implementing alternative water supply strategies, some impacts also could occur in the neighboring Suwannee District as a result of projected water use increases in both districts.

Visit the St. Johns District’s Web site at www.sjrwmd.com/watersupplyplanning to learn more about its water supply planning process.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Melrose Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.