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St. Johns River Water Management District updates trustees on 20-year water supply plans for Lake County
Summary
District staff outlined regional water supply planning for northern and southern Lake County, explained Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs), projected population and demand changes, and solicited project ideas and conservation measures; trustees asked about MFL reassessment and potable reuse.
Representatives from the St. Johns River Water Management District briefed the Lake County Water Authority on regional water supply planning for the districts Central Springs East Coast (CSEC) and Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) regions.
Joy Coke explained the districts strategic-basin approach and water-supply planning process, including a 20-year planning horizon and public workshops. "When we do water supply planning, we look at a 20 year planning horizon," she said, describing the steps from population projections to water-resource assessment and project solicitation. Coke told trustees Northern Lake County population is expected to increase by about 40% by 2050, and that total water demand for that area is projected to rise roughly 20% (to around 60—61 million gallons per day) over the planning horizon.
Cali Register summarized the CFWI 2025 update and South Lake County findings: a corrected 2020 baseline of about 42,000,000 gallons per day, projected population growth in the region from roughly 152,000 in 2020 to about 247,000 by 2045 (about a 34% increase), and a suite of project options and conservation estimates. "Project options include water supply and water resource development, including alternative or non traditional water sources such as brackish groundwater, surface water, storm water, reclaimed water, aquifer storage and recovery wells and reservoirs," Register said.
Trustees asked how MFLs are adjusted; Coke described periodic review and field ground-truthing and said MFLs are not immutable. She also confirmed potable reuse is among the tools utilities may adopt.
The district asked for stakeholder input on project ideas and said the CSEC plan approved in 2022 must be updated by 2027; staff will hold a technical methods workshop in July to discuss assessment tools and methodology.
