News Update
SJRWMD approves ranking of agricultural projects that conserve water, reduce nutrients
Staff report
Enviro-Net
Nine agricultural projects will share nearly $779,000 in cost-share funds from the St. Johns River Water Management District to improve water conservation and reduce nutrient loading to area waterways.
Projects approved by the SJRWMD Governing Board are estimated to collectively conserve 138 million gallons of water a year and reduce total nitrogen by 17,100 pounds and total phosphorus by 3,170 pounds per year.
Since the program began in 2015, the district has funded 103 such partnership projects.
The following projects will receive funds this cycle:
• Orange Bend Harvesting Inc., Lake County, precision fertilizer application equipment
• Wild Goose Farms LLC, Marion County, precision fertilizer equipment and soil moisture sensors
• Total Ag Care LLC, Orange County, irrigation retrofit and soil moisture sensors
• Richard Davis, Lake County, irrigation retrofit
• Sun Ag LLC, Indian River County, conversion to surface water
• Cherrylake Inc., Lake County, soil moisture sensors and weather station
• Estes Citrus Inc., Indian River County, portable tissue testing lab, soil moisture sensors
• Lake Jem Farms Inc., Lake County, soil moisture sensors and precision fertilizer equipment
• Underhill Ferneries Inc., Volusia County, precision fertilizer application equipment
The district received 13 applications for projects seeking funds through the fiscal year 2020-2021.
The types of projects eligible for funding include irrigation system retrofits, soil moisture and climate sensor telemetry, rainwater harvesting, subirrigation drain tile and more. The program is voluntary and includes a requirement that funding recipients modify their consumptive use permits to memorialize the actual water reductions resulting from the district’s monetary contribution.
For information about SJRWMD cost-share programs, visit www.sjrwmd.com/localgovernments/funding/.
Source: St. Johns River Water Management District