Water First reclaimed‑water project draws technical briefing and sharp public concerns
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Summary
Suwannee River Water Management District representatives brief Columbia County commissioners on the regional "Water First" reclaimed‑water and recharge project, describing pilot studies and a plan to recharge about 40 million gallons per day. Residents raised PFAS, pharmaceutical and liability concerns; no county action was taken.
Suwannee River Water Management District officials presented the Water First regional reclaimed‑water and aquifer recharge plan to the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 20, detailing pilot studies, statutory obligations and a three‑phase siting study while urging further public outreach. The board heard extended public comment, but took no formal action.
Amy Brown, deputy executive director of water resources for the Suwannee River Water Management District, said the project would pair conservation with regional supply projects to recover springs and rivers currently assessed as in recovery. "The Water First project is looking at taking 40,000,000 gallons per day of treated reclaimed water," she said, describing the plan to apply additional natural treatment in wetlands and then use the water for aquifer recharge.
Brown said the districts and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have identified four core recovery projects and that the Water First approach emerged after evaluating many scenarios, including desalination. She emphasized ongoing pilot testing, including the JEA Buckman Ozone Wetland Pilot Study that is comparing constructed wetlands with and without ozone pretreatment to measure removal of nutrients, pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants.
Why it matters: district modeling and MFL (minimum flow and level) assessments show Ichetucknee and Santa Fe river gauges below recovery targets; staff said the region must either develop additional supplies or require allocation reductions that could affect utilities and farms. Brown said doing nothing would trigger across‑the‑board reductions in allocations over a 20‑year recovery horizon.
Public concerns focused on contaminants, monitoring and liability. Carol Eckert said she feared the county would become a “dumping ground,” and told commissioners: "The project aims to pump 40,000,000 gallons a day into the wetlands nearby and eventually inject the treated wastewater into our aquifer." Moses Tupper and other commenters cited University of Florida work showing PFAS detections in springs and urged baseline health and environmental monitoring for communities near proposed recharge or injection sites.
Supporters of further testing said pilot work is under way. Dr. John Rhodes, who said he conducts contaminant treatment research, told the board that "we can get every chemical I know of out of water with right treat," adding that testing to identify constituent loads and treatment needs is the project's purpose.
Funding and process: County staff said a $20 million line item appeared in the state senate budget proposal but not in the House as of the meeting; the project would require additional permitting, siting, pilot testing and likely further legislative support. Brown described a three‑phase siting study (wetland siting, recharge locations in the St. Johns district, and conveyance to recharge sites in the Suwannee district) and said one treatment wetland could exceed 1,000 acres.
What’s next: district staff said they intend an educational circuit and regional town halls to answer questions before any decisions are requested of local governing bodies. The board did not vote on the project; commissioners asked for continued updates and clarification on contaminant monitoring, liability and funding.
