News Update
SJRWMD to purchase acreage for Volusia Blue wetland recharge project
Staff report
Enviro-Net
The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board approved purchasing a 60-acre borrow pit near Volusia Blue Spring for a strategic partnership project that will allow wetland treatment and recharge to benefit the flows of Volusia Blue, one of eight Outstanding Florida Springs in the district.
Collaborative partners include Volusia County and the cities of DeLand, Deltona and Orange City, which make up the West Volusia Water Supply Partnership, as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Department of Transportation. Each of the local government partners has unanimously approved the project. A total of $1.025 million in DEP Springs Restoration Grant funds will be used for the acquisition of the project site, and design and permitting support.
The project concept identifies the active borrow pit as a treatment/recharge wetland that would receive storm water from Mill Lake and reclaimed water and surface water from the WVWS partnership’s interconnected pipe system.
A preliminary design report has been completed to determine the scientific feasibility of the project. A load test will be conducted to complete the feasibility process. Should the load test not support the project moving forward, the district will not be obligated to purchase the property.
Over the last six years, the district has spent $22.1 million constructing projects identified in the 2013 Prevention and Recovery Strategy for minimum flows and levels in Volusia County. This project capitalizes on that investment