The Water 2020 Process: A Guide to Future Water Supply Decision Making in East Central Florida

Abstract

East central Florida, including the Orlando metropolitan area, has traditionally used fresh groundwater to provide a safe, reliable, and inexpensive water supply source to meet both public supply and agricultural irrigation needs. Approximately 1.99 billion liters per day (526 mgd) of fresh groundwater was withdrawn from the Floridan aquifer in this region, in 1995. By the year 2020, average day water supply demands are expected to increase by about 61 percent, to approximately 3.21 billion liters per day (848 mgd). Investigations conducted by St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), as part of the Water 2020 planning process, indicated that all future water supply needs cannot be fully met by fresh groundwater alone without incurring unacceptable harm, including reduction in spring flow discharge, and de-watering of sensitive isolated wetland systems resulting in changes in wetland vegetation and wetland type. These investigations, conclude that substantial new alternative water supply sources and new water management strategies, will likely need to be developed, to supplement existing fresh groundwater withdrawals, if the potential adverse impacts are to be avoided while meeting future water supply needs. Alternative water supply sources and management strategies investigated include; optimization of groundwater withdrawals, brackish groundwater development, surface water development, artificial recharge, increased water conservation and reuse, interconnection of water supply systems, aquifer storage recovery (ASR), and avoidance or mitigation of adverse wetland impacts resulting from increased groundwater withdrawals. This paper provides an overview of the Water 2020 process as well as a summary of the major regional planning tools developed. Each of the water supply sources and water management strategies investigated is discussed, and the concept of adaptive management is introduced. The Water 2020 process provides an informative case study in integrated water resources planning and management that may prove useful in other regions facing increased demands placed on finite and varied water resources.