A plan that would let Central Florida withdraw as much as 155 million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns River to meet the region’s growing needs is expected to be adopted this spring.The s0-called "Central Florida Regional Water Supply Plan" has been in the works for a number of years.
According to St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman, there’s been little if any input from this part of the state.
“They’ve been having stakeholder meetings in Central Florida where they reap the benefits of these actions," she said. "They have not, to date, had a stakeholders' meeting in Northeast Florida.”
Rinaman says she’s asked to be on one of the solution committees that will spend the next year looking at the bigger picture.
She also said the St. Johns River Water Management District has agreed to hold a workshop in Palatka next month so that people in Northeast Florida can weigh in on what the proposed water withdrawals will mean for this region.
The population of Central Florida is expected to surpass 4-million people by 2035. Experts say it will take at least a billion gallons of water a day to support the region.
You can follow Cyd Hoskinson on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
