Water Sources
Surface Water
The St. Johns River is Florida’s largest river and uniquely flows from south to north. Beginning in Okeechobee and Indian River counties and ending in Jacksonville, the River flows more than 300 miles through many Central Florida communities. That makes the St. Johns River a local source of water for much of eastern Florida. In fact, a handful of users located in Brevard, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Putnam, Flagler, St. Johns and Duval Counties already use the St. Johns River as a source of water.
At one point, several years ago, even Jacksonville considered using the St. Johns River as an alternative water source. However, because the St. Johns is saltier near Jacksonville, the water was deemed too costly to treat and Jacksonville elected to develop additional groundwater wellfields in western Duval County.
In Seminole, the River’s water is more expensive to treat than groundwater, but significantly less expensive than seawater desalination. Additionally, Florida Statutes require Seminole County, and all counties, to first look at local sources for potential water supplies before looking to other counties for new water supplies.
As a local government, we have a responsibility to provide water to our customers in a cost-effective manner. Since new groundwater withdrawals are no longer available in Seminole County, the River has become the next best feasible source of water to meet the water needs of our citizens. When the St. Johns River Water Management District determines the River can no longer sustainably provide more water, the water needs of our citizens will be met using other more expensive water sources, including seawater desalination.
Seminole County is committed to not overuse any one water resource. Every step along the way, we will use the most cost-effective supply source available, and then move on to the next most feasible source when we reach the safe yield of the initial supply source. This is what we have done with our groundwater supplies and this is what we will do with the water we develop from the St. Johns River.
The St. Johns River Water Management District began studying the St. Johns River as a potential supply source in 1995 and has prepared dozens of reports analyzing the safe yield of the surface water system. Their studies concluded that the St. Johns River could provide up to 155 million gallons per day of water upstream of State Road 44 without adversely impacting the River’s ecosystem. Of course, the River is a dynamic system and this number will be periodically re-evaluated as additional data is collected.
Currently, scientific studies predict the River can provide our water needs for the next 25-30 years. Any permit issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District to use the River will require a periodic re-evaluation of the underlying scientific studies every five years, and the St. Johns River Water Management District has the legal authority to modify or reduce our permitted use should these studies show that less water is available.
The St. Johns River Water Management District recently commenced a new two-year scientific study of the St. Johns River to validate its prior studies. This is nothing new. The Water Management District has performed those studies in the past and will continue to perform them in the future — long after this new study has been completed. Seminole County fully supports this new study because we recognize that decisions as to how much water should be withdrawn from the St. Johns River should be based on good science and not unfounded fears and concerns.
