November 2022

By Lynn Spivey, City of Plant City

"Most states across our great nation are feeling the population spike associated with rapid growth in our cities and counties. With a current population of 22.25 million, Florida is the third most populous state behind California and Texas. The Florida Chamber of Commerce predicts Florida’s population will hit 26 million by 2030, with a projected water use of 7.7 billion gallons of water per day. That is 1.7 billion gallons per day more than current use.  

Approximately 90% of the state’s drinking water comes from Florida’s aquifers, with the current population drawing approximately 7 billion gallons of water each day. It should be no surprise that we are seeing saltwater contamination in our Florida aquifers due to over pumping. Yet, we are still questioning potable reuse. Florida’s journey to adding potable reuse to the “beneficial use toolbox” changed to the fast lane back in 2014 with the passing of Senate Bill 536, which was approved by the Governor in June 2014."

What was WRFL's role in the following years? What are the next steps in Florida's potable reuse journey? Click below to read the full article. 

The City of Plant City recently held a ribbon cutting for its One Water Demonstration Facility, which was attended by local and state elected officials as well as WateReuse Florida members. The project is part of the Plant City McIntosh Park Integrated Water Management Plan, a collaborative project between Parks and Recreation and Utilities to enhance park recreational opportunities, provide potable water supply and increase flood protection. 

The McIntosh Park consists of more than 350 acres of park lands, providing a unique opportunity to increase public access to the preserve but also to restore hydrologic conditions to impacted wetlands, decrease local flooding, and beneficially reuse high quality reclaimed water. This multiyear, multifaceted project provides the City with the opportunity to optimize previous public investments in these lands through the expansion of wetlands, increasing storage capacity and providing additional water quality benefits to downstream receiving waters. In addition, this project is located within two water use caution areas and plays a tremendous role in supplementing potable water supply in the region. 

The project consists of providing additional reclaimed water to the park wetland systems; these enhanced wetlands will ameliorate local flooding and provide water quality benefits to downstream receiving waters. An indirect potable reuse option to utilize reclaimed water is under evaluation as well as the use of reclaimed water for aquifer recharge. A public information campaign is underway.

This outreach program, in conjunction with the project demonstration facility, provides educational opportunities for residents, regulatory agencies, and elected officials to learn about water recycling, water treatment, and the safety of potable reuse, highlighting the value of water reuse to the community and environment. The project elements emerge from the City’s integrative approach that initiated this program and reflect the holistic coordinated One Water message and its importance. 

The state of Florida, in coordination with the water management districts, has provided $23.6 million in cost-share funding for 10 reuse projects (for either potable offset or groundwater recharge), which are anticipated to leverage more than $174 million in cooperating entity matching funds. When these projects are fully online, they are anticipated to create more than 6 million gallons per day, more than 2 million gallons in storage capacity, and more than 6 million gallons in transmission/distribution capacity. The projects include: 

• South Santa Rosa Reuse Initiative (Santa Rosa) 
• Chumuckla Hwy. Ground Storage Tank and Booster Pump Station (Santa Rosa) 
• Palm Beach-Broward Interconnect Phase 1A: South Reclaimed Water Transmission and System Extension (Palm Beach) 
• North 1 Reclaimed Water Main Extension Phase 1A (Lee) 
• Green Cay Wetlands 2 mgd Indirect Potable Reuse Project (Palm Beach) 
• Reclaimed Water Main Extension Phase 5 (Volusia) 
• H2.0 Purification Demonstration Facility (Duval) 
• AWS Reclaimed Water Project (Lake) 
• Gainesville Regional Utilities Deerhaven/Deerhaven Renewable Water Sharing Project (Alachua) 
• Wildwood Golf Course Reuse Irrigation and Recharge RIB (Wakulla) 

Join us for the WateReuse Florida Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with the 2022 Florida Water Forum at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando. The use of recycled water is growing in Florida as we continue to find ways to make every drop count more than once. We will be hosting a Board Dinner on Dec. 7 to set the stage for our meeting. On Dec. 8, we will meet at 8 am for breakfast as we listen to a special legislative guest speaker. We also plan to hear from an expert on PFAS and where the rules may be going. 

Our packed agenda will include a presentation from our New Technology and Innovation Committee and wrap up with lunch and closing remarks from our president and president elect on the future of our organization. Members can then walk over and engage in the Florida Water Forum event starting at 1 p.m. 

Mark your calendar for the 2023 WateReuse Symposium, March 5-8 at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Annual WateReuse Symposium is the premier conference on water recycling — attracting water professionals and water reuse practitioners globally for knowledge-sharing, networking, and collaboration! The event is planned in collaboration with The Water Research Foundation and will include engaging sessions on the latest reuse-related research projects.

2023 dues renewals have been sent to all members. There are many reasons to join or renew your membership, including: 

• Impacting national and state policymaking 
• Accessing education and professional development through conferences, webcasts and events 
• Building your network and expanding your business 
• Engaging with your peers by participating in the Florida section as well as a section or national committee 
• Connecting everyone in your organization to our members benefits 
  

For more information on member benefits, view WateReuse’s 2022 Accomplishments and the 2023 Membership Flyer. 

2023 Legislation Senate and House Bills: 14 bills have been filed to date all dealing with requesting relief for persons or estates.

The New Technology and Innovation Committee (NTIC) strives to meet on a monthly basis and has been given the task of exploring and identifying technologies and research within the realm of reuse that could benefit the Florida membership. The committee is chaired by Pranjali Kumar, P.E. with Carollo Engineers, and Kerry Kates, P.E. with the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, with incoming WateReuse Florida president Mike Sweeney, Ph.D. with Toho Water Authority, serving as vice-chair. 

The NTIC met in August and were provided an in-depth and insightful presentation by AECOM’s Chris Hill, Vijay Sundaram, and Christopher Curran on the management of PFAS-containing residuals in potable reuse. In October, the committee convened and held a roundtable discussion led by Jason Mikel with Pasco County regarding potential strategies to address nutrient levels in reclaimed water within BMAP areas. 

As always, the committee presentations are recorded and are available for viewing by WateReuse Florida members. If interested, please contact Kerry Kates.