North Florida Regional Water Supply Partnership
North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan
2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan
Since 2021, the Districts have been working with stakeholders to update to the 2015–2035 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP), which was approved at a joint meeting of the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) governing boards in January 2017. This work is being conducted to meet the requirements of Section 373.709 of the Florida Statutes, which requires the Districts to reevaluate their determinations concerning the need for a water supply plan at least every five years. The development of the 2023 NFRWSP (2020–2045) is being conducted in an open process with local governments and other stakeholders. Below are tentative milestones guiding the development of the 2023 NFRWSP:
- Winter 2023/2024: Plan approval
Work Completed
- November 16 and 17, 2021 - two Technical Methods public workshops describing the approach to developing the population and water demand projections were held at the SJRWMD and SRWMD, respectively.
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The technical methods were utilized to develop the 2020–2045 population and water demand projections, water reuse estimates and projections, and water conservation scenarios. Comments on the technical methods and datasets were received through December 17, 2021. The Districts reviewed all submitted comments and incorporated updates to the methods and datasets, as necessary. Additional comments on the projections and spatially distributed data were received through July 8, 2022, and were incorporated into the documents where appropriate.
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November 15 and 16, 2022 – two Constraint Assessment public workshops describing the water resource constraint methodologies and results were held at the SRWMD and SJRWMD, respectively.
- Comments on the constraint assessment methodologies and results were received through January 31, 2023 and incorporated into the documents where appropriate.
- February through April 2023 – The Districts worked collaboratively with the region’s utilities, water users, and local stakeholders to identify project options to help meet our water supply needs, now and in the future. A list of potential water supply, water resource development, and water conservation project options was developed, which will be included in the upcoming 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan.
Current Activities
The Districts are continuing to work in a collaborative process with local governments, public supply utilities, environmental advocates, and other stakeholders to meet the requirements of Section 373.709, Florida Statutes. The NFRWSP area includes 14 counties in the SJRWMD and the SRWMD: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee, and Union. The plan assesses current and projected water needs in the NFRWSP area, the potential impacts of groundwater withdrawals on natural systems, and identifies sufficient project options to sustain water resources and related natural systems through the planning horizon (2045).
There is active work underway in the planning area to establish new MFLs and update existing MFLs. This work is being done in parallel with the planning process. Below is a summary of these activities and points of contact to engage with these efforts.
Two public workshops regarding the draft 2023 NFRWSP were held on September 20 and September 21, 2023, at the SJRWMD and SRWMD, respectively. Both workshops included the same content. Below is a copy of the presentation that was shared at both workshops. Also provided is a recording of the workshop presentation from the SJRWMD September 20, 2023, workshop.
Draft 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan
The draft update to the 2015–2035 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP) was posted on September 12, 2023 for review and public comment (see below). The Plan assesses current and projected water needs in the NFRWSP area through 2045. As part of our ongoing efforts, we are encouraging stakeholders and the public to share their comments. The comments play an important role in shaping the 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan. The deadline to submit comments is October 6, 2023. All comments can be submitted via the public comment form below or emailed to partnership@sjrwmd.com.
- 2023 NFRWSP Public Comment
- 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan DRAFT
- Appendix A Public Comment and Response DRAFT
- Appendix B Population and Water Demand Projections DRAFT
- Population and Water Demands Projections Table
- Water Reuse Estimates and Projections
- Water Conservation Scenarios
- Geodatabase
- Appendix C Simulated Change in Groundwater Levels within the NFSEG Model DRAFT
- Appendix D Water Quality Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix E Adopted MFLs DRAFT
- Appendix F MFLs Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix G Waterbodies without Adopted MFLs Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix H Wetland Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix I Resiliency Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix J Land Reclamation Assessment DRAFT
- Appendix K Project Options DRAFT
- Appendix L Santa Fe Recovery Strategy
- Appendix M Lakes Brooklyn and Geneva Recovery Strategy
Stakeholder Participation
As the planning process proceeds, this webpage will be updated with documents and notices for upcoming public meetings. Additionally, interested stakeholders are encouraged to sign up to be notified when data or documents are posted or when meetings for the 2020–2045 NFRWSP are scheduled to occur. To be added to the mailing list, please send your first and last names, group affiliation (if any), and email address to partnership@sjrwmd.com.
Previous Water Supply Plan
The 2015–2035 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP) was the first-ever regional water supply plan for the Partnership, local governments, public supply utilities, environmental advocates, and other stakeholders. These groups all shared the common goals of preserving and extending our future water supply.