JEA ponders pumping into aquifer; Utility wants to clean used water and put it back into its source.
By STEVE PATTERSON
Troubled by forecasts it could harm the Floridan aquifer by pumping too much water, JEA is asking whether it can put some water back after using it.
The utility and the St. Johns River Water Management District are looking into the costs and effectiveness of two plans to return sewer wastewater to the ground after carefully cleaning it to a high standard.
One idea involves laying pipelines to carry wastewater to places southwest of Jacksonville where water quickly percolates through the ground and into the aquifer.
The other involves drilling a shaft maybe 2,000 feet deep and injecting the cleaned wastewater into a different aquifer layer below the Floridan. The goal there is to create upward pressure that would maintain Floridan levels, somewhat like slipping a coaster under a wobbly table leg.
The cleaned water would eventually find its way into an aquifer anyway but not as fast, said Karl Hankin, JEA's manager of water and wastewater planning.
"The amount of water we've got on this planet is finite. ... We've probably recycled the water we drink a number of times already," Hankin said.
JEA has lagged behind many communities in using recycled wastewater to irrigate lawns and golf courses, partly because of the cost of laying new pipes through well-established neighborhoods.
As a result, great amounts of cleaned wastewater end up being released into the St. Johns River instead of being reused.
"There is still a lot of reclaimed water that is not presently spoken for," said Kirby Green, management district's executive director.
That wastewater is being viewed as a potential asset now, as the water management district pressures utilities to show how they will meet water demands through 2030 without overburdening the aquifer, their source of drinking water.
Gainesville's utility has returned wastewater to quick-recharge areas for years, Hankin said. He said water is still naturally filtered as it passes through yard after yard of earth, entering the Floridan with no risk of any environmental harm.
But Jacksonville's geology would make that process more complicated.
Most of Northeast Florida's ground contains a barrier, called the Hawthorn layer, that would slow the water's descent, defeating the goal of recharging the aquifer.
To get around that, JEA could run pipes somewhere out near Keystone Heights or other inland points where the Hawthorn layer disappears.
Doing that would cost many millions of dollars, but the exact price isn't known yet. It's likely to be clearer by the time the management district completes a 20-year water supply plan in December.
Hankin said JEA might be able to pour 30 million to 80 million gallons daily into a recharge system. If it injected water directly into a lower aquifer, the utility might handle 1 million to 40 million gallons daily that way, he said.steve.patterson@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4263
(c) 2010 Florida Times Union. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/news_display/142618362.html
Showing posts with label sjrwmd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sjrwmd. Show all posts
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Water restrictions change on Sunday
Twice-a-week watering rules return Sunday
St. Johns River Water Management District rules will change then.
By The Times-Union
on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010
Twice-a-week watering regulations return Sunday with daylight saving time to the 18 counties within the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Under restrictions adopted a year ago, landscape irrigation is limited to two days a week during daylight saving time, and one day a week during the winter months.
The restrictions were put in place to ensure efficient use of water for lawn and landscape irrigation and to conserve Florida's water. Thirty-six local governments in Northeast and Central Florida also enacted ordinances implementing the district's rule.
Beginning Sunday (with certain exceptions), landscape irrigation restrictions are as follows:
- Wednesday and Saturday for residential landscape irrigation at addresses that end in an odd number or have no address.
- Thursday and Sunday for residential landscape irrigation at addresses that end in an even number.
- Tuesday and Friday for nonresidential landscape irrigation.
- No landscape watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. any day, and no more than one hour is allowed per irrigation zone on each day irrigation occurs.
The restrictions apply to water withdrawn from ground or surface water, private well or pump, or from a public or private water utility.
For more information, visit floridaswater.com/wateringrestrictions.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-11/story/twice_a_week_watering_rules_return_sunday
St. Johns River Water Management District rules will change then.
By The Times-Union
on Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010
Twice-a-week watering regulations return Sunday with daylight saving time to the 18 counties within the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Under restrictions adopted a year ago, landscape irrigation is limited to two days a week during daylight saving time, and one day a week during the winter months.
The restrictions were put in place to ensure efficient use of water for lawn and landscape irrigation and to conserve Florida's water. Thirty-six local governments in Northeast and Central Florida also enacted ordinances implementing the district's rule.
Beginning Sunday (with certain exceptions), landscape irrigation restrictions are as follows:
- Wednesday and Saturday for residential landscape irrigation at addresses that end in an odd number or have no address.
- Thursday and Sunday for residential landscape irrigation at addresses that end in an even number.
- Tuesday and Friday for nonresidential landscape irrigation.
- No landscape watering is allowed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. any day, and no more than one hour is allowed per irrigation zone on each day irrigation occurs.
The restrictions apply to water withdrawn from ground or surface water, private well or pump, or from a public or private water utility.
For more information, visit floridaswater.com/wateringrestrictions.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-03-11/story/twice_a_week_watering_rules_return_sunday
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Water withdrawal study gets more time
River study extended to mid-2011
Jacksonville Business Journal
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
---------------------------------
The St. Johns River Water Management District will extend its study of the potential environmental impacts of withdrawing water from the river by seven months to mid-2011.
The extended timeline will allow the district to involve outside experts in more peer review and scientific model enhancements. The district’s partnership with the National Research Council has allowed it to collect more data, enhance modeling and receive more peer review as it studies the impact of withdrawing up to 262 million gallons of water a day from the river.
“It’s critical that we are flexible with this study as it evolves to ensure that we end up with a comprehensive assessment based on sound science,” said Tom Bartol, the district’s project manager for the study and director of the Division of Water Supply Management.
The core findings of the study are expected to be unveiled to the public in fall 2010.
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2009/12/07/daily13.html
Jacksonville Business Journal
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
---------------------------------
The St. Johns River Water Management District will extend its study of the potential environmental impacts of withdrawing water from the river by seven months to mid-2011.
The extended timeline will allow the district to involve outside experts in more peer review and scientific model enhancements. The district’s partnership with the National Research Council has allowed it to collect more data, enhance modeling and receive more peer review as it studies the impact of withdrawing up to 262 million gallons of water a day from the river.
“It’s critical that we are flexible with this study as it evolves to ensure that we end up with a comprehensive assessment based on sound science,” said Tom Bartol, the district’s project manager for the study and director of the Division of Water Supply Management.
The core findings of the study are expected to be unveiled to the public in fall 2010.
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2009/12/07/daily13.html
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
SJRWMD hires group to patrol counties looking for violators of their new water restrictions
http://www.ocala.com/article/20091207/ARTICLES/912071002/1001/NEWS01?Title=Water-district-hires-private-enforcers
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Upper St. Johns River Basin Project receives Thiess Riverprize Award
11/09/2009
Daily Record (Jacksonville)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District project that was formally awarded the Australian-based International Riverfoundation’s Thiess Riverprize Award in 2008 was recently presented the honors accompanying trophy in a ceremony held at its Jacksonville district headquarters.
Maurice Sterling, project management director of the St. Johns River Water Management District and local project sponsor, presented the award.
“This award is one the team can be extraordinarily proud of. This is more than three decades in our partnership history and is a case of the government doing something right,” said Sterling. “There were speed bumps along the way but we were able to iron them out and come out with a good product for our partnership.”
Lt. Col. Nathaniel Rainey, deputy district commander, received the award on behalf of the district team and said he felt as if he had just won the Super Bowl. “This is a really special award,” said Rainey. “We are so proud of the relationship with the St. Johns River Water Management District.
“The St. Johns is our river, it supports our community and we live in its basin, which is part of our geography. This project demonstrates partnerships and teamwork at its best.”
According to Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield of Australia’s University of Queensl and chair of the Riverprize judging panel, the St. Johns River Basin Project is a large wetlands restoration initiative that addresses environmental degradation and flood damage reduction in the headwaters region of the St. Johns River. One of the largest river restoration projects in the United States, the project uses innovative approaches in design and management to combine environmental benefits with flood damage reduction over 60 kilometers of river length and thousands of acres of floodplain. It covers a total of 247 square miles. The project was based on a nonstructural approach to flood management instead of an artificial system of dikes and dams.
It was the first project in the nation with Corps involvement that was described by law as a nonstructural flood control project.
“The Everglades may be the largest ecosystem project, but the Upper St. Johns River Basin Project was, at least, one of the largest environmental projects we completed,” said Steven Robinson, project manager from 1997-2004. “It is one of the projects I am most proud of having been a part of.”
Robinson also said the team comingled environmental restoration with flood reduction engineering and produced a project that works as much for the environment as it does for the engineered science and technology for which it was designed.
Sterling said the $222,000 Riverprize is the largest privately-funded money prize in the world, given to recognize innovative river management. Received by the water management district, the prize was used to complete wetlands restoration and the river cleanup programs throughout Northeast and Eastern Central Florida.
The International Thiess Riverprize began as an initiative in 1999 to award best management practices for the restoration and sustainable preservation of rivers and waterways, and has to date awarded more than $2 million to support ongoing river restoration work.
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=529529
11/09/2009
Daily Record (Jacksonville)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District project that was formally awarded the Australian-based International Riverfoundation’s Thiess Riverprize Award in 2008 was recently presented the honors accompanying trophy in a ceremony held at its Jacksonville district headquarters.
Maurice Sterling, project management director of the St. Johns River Water Management District and local project sponsor, presented the award.
“This award is one the team can be extraordinarily proud of. This is more than three decades in our partnership history and is a case of the government doing something right,” said Sterling. “There were speed bumps along the way but we were able to iron them out and come out with a good product for our partnership.”
Lt. Col. Nathaniel Rainey, deputy district commander, received the award on behalf of the district team and said he felt as if he had just won the Super Bowl. “This is a really special award,” said Rainey. “We are so proud of the relationship with the St. Johns River Water Management District.
“The St. Johns is our river, it supports our community and we live in its basin, which is part of our geography. This project demonstrates partnerships and teamwork at its best.”
According to Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield of Australia’s University of Queensl and chair of the Riverprize judging panel, the St. Johns River Basin Project is a large wetlands restoration initiative that addresses environmental degradation and flood damage reduction in the headwaters region of the St. Johns River. One of the largest river restoration projects in the United States, the project uses innovative approaches in design and management to combine environmental benefits with flood damage reduction over 60 kilometers of river length and thousands of acres of floodplain. It covers a total of 247 square miles. The project was based on a nonstructural approach to flood management instead of an artificial system of dikes and dams.
It was the first project in the nation with Corps involvement that was described by law as a nonstructural flood control project.
“The Everglades may be the largest ecosystem project, but the Upper St. Johns River Basin Project was, at least, one of the largest environmental projects we completed,” said Steven Robinson, project manager from 1997-2004. “It is one of the projects I am most proud of having been a part of.”
Robinson also said the team comingled environmental restoration with flood reduction engineering and produced a project that works as much for the environment as it does for the engineered science and technology for which it was designed.
Sterling said the $222,000 Riverprize is the largest privately-funded money prize in the world, given to recognize innovative river management. Received by the water management district, the prize was used to complete wetlands restoration and the river cleanup programs throughout Northeast and Eastern Central Florida.
The International Thiess Riverprize began as an initiative in 1999 to award best management practices for the restoration and sustainable preservation of rivers and waterways, and has to date awarded more than $2 million to support ongoing river restoration work.
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=529529
Friday, October 23, 2009
With the time change comes new watering restrictions
Most of Central Florida to be under once-a-week watering restrictions starting Nov. 1
By, Kevin Spear
for the Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
------------------------------------------------------
The most restrictive limits ever on lawn watering will kick in soon for people who live in the St. Johns River Water Management District, which covers most of Central Florida. On Nov. 1, when daylight saving ends, residents will be allowed to water their grass only once a week until March, when daylight savings resumes and twice-a-week watering is allowed again.
District officials imposed the rule earlier this year as part of efforts to solve a growing water crisis brought on by rapid population growth dipping into a limited amount of underground aquifer water. District officials think lawns don't need as much watering during winter months.
The once-a-week rule, effective in all 18 counties of the district, allows homes with odd addresses to water on Saturday and those with even addresses to use sprinklers on Sunday.
Restrictions are much more complicated for the South Florida Water Management District, which takes in parts of south Orange County and Osceola County. The district now has in effect a drought-response rule that, to avoid confusion, requires its residents to follow the rules of the St. Johns River Water Management District. That means that on Nov. 1, residents of south Orange County and Osceola County will be allowed to water once a week.
But the drought is over and the South Florida Water Management District is about to rescind its drought rule and enact a year-round conservation rule. When that happens, probably later this year, the district residents will be allowed to water twice a week.
By, Kevin Spear
for the Orlando Sentinel
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
------------------------------------------------------
The most restrictive limits ever on lawn watering will kick in soon for people who live in the St. Johns River Water Management District, which covers most of Central Florida. On Nov. 1, when daylight saving ends, residents will be allowed to water their grass only once a week until March, when daylight savings resumes and twice-a-week watering is allowed again.
District officials imposed the rule earlier this year as part of efforts to solve a growing water crisis brought on by rapid population growth dipping into a limited amount of underground aquifer water. District officials think lawns don't need as much watering during winter months.
The once-a-week rule, effective in all 18 counties of the district, allows homes with odd addresses to water on Saturday and those with even addresses to use sprinklers on Sunday.
Restrictions are much more complicated for the South Florida Water Management District, which takes in parts of south Orange County and Osceola County. The district now has in effect a drought-response rule that, to avoid confusion, requires its residents to follow the rules of the St. Johns River Water Management District. That means that on Nov. 1, residents of south Orange County and Osceola County will be allowed to water once a week.
But the drought is over and the South Florida Water Management District is about to rescind its drought rule and enact a year-round conservation rule. When that happens, probably later this year, the district residents will be allowed to water twice a week.
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