MANASOTA & PEACE RIVER BBDs Meeting Notebook 10-21-09.docx

Summary Agenda
Joint Meeting and Workshop October 21, 2009
Manasota and Peace River Basin Boards Page 11 of 29
intended to expedite the implementation of production-scale agricultural BMPs
that provide water resource benefits. Resource benefits of the FARMS Program
include reduced Upper Floridan aquifer withdrawals, water quality improvements
(both from groundwater and surface water sources) and/or conservation,
restoration, and augmentation of the area's water resources and ecology. The
District's emphasis through the FARMS Program is on reductions in Upper
Floridan aquifer withdrawals that will improve groundwater conditions as
documented in the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA)
recovery strategy. In addition, the District also provides funding for projects that
improve water quality affected by the use of mineralized groundwater as
documented in the Shell and Prairie Creek Watershed Management Plan –
Reasonable Assurance Documentation. Per FARMS Rule 40D-26, Florida
Administrative Code, reimbursement cost-share rates are capped at 50 percent
for water quantity withdrawal reductions from the Upper Floridan aquifer; or from
any combination of ground, surface, or reclaimed water sources; or water quality
improvements realized from decreasing the use of mineralized groundwater; or
natural system improvements in the Upper Myakka River Watershed (UMRW).
Reimbursement cost-share rates are capped at 75 percent for both water
quantity and water quality or natural systems improvements.
FARMS Program staff received a project proposal from Bermont Properties, LLC,
for their 1,500-acres of citrus grove located within the East Charlotte Drainage
District (ECDD) in eastern Charlotte County. The ECDD Water Use Permit
authorizes an annual average groundwater withdrawal of 2,919,800 gallons per
day (gpd) to irrigate over 3,300-acres of citrus groves owned by multiple property
owners and irrigated by a variety of methods. Since January 2006, an average
of 90 percent of the ECDD’s permitted quantities was used to irrigate all of the
groves served under this permit. The primary goal of this project is to increase
the efficiency of irrigation events to the groves owned and maintained by
Bermont Properties by installing hydraulic valves that will be controlled by a
timer at each irrigation zone and rain sensors to shut down each zone during
rainfall events. FARMS project components will consist of several dozen
hydraulically controlled irrigation valves, five irrigation control stations with rain
sensors, and the piping necessary to connect the new valves to the existing
irrigation system. The proposed project is expected to offset a minimum of
146,000 gpd, or five percent, of the permitted irrigation quantities of the ECDD’s
Water Use Permit. The specific conductance of ground water sampled from
several wells within this project area is over 3,000 micro Siemens per centimeter
(µS/cm), which is well above the target level of 775 µS/cm as referenced in the
Shell Creek and Prairie Creek Watershed Management Plan. The reduction in
groundwater use will benefit Upper Floridan aquifer system by reducing
groundwater quantity withdrawals and will improve the water quality of Myrtle
Slough and Shell Creek through a reduction in runoff of mineralized groundwater.
Benefits/Costs
The proposed project involves water quantity and water quality BMPs which
qualifies for a 75 percent cost-share reimbursement rate under the FARMS
Program. Using an estimated five percent savings of permitted quantities, or
146,000 gpd yields a daily cost of $1.10 per thousand gallons of groundwater
reduced over the proposed five-year contract term, and $0.33 per thousand
gallons of groundwater reduced over a thirty-year term. Both values are within
the guidelines for the generally accepted average cost savings per thousand
gallons for the implementation of alternative supplies and improved irrigation
techniques for flatwood citrus operations. Total project costs are estimated at
$255,000. Fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2009 State Appropriations will be used