Here’s a bit more about the Water First North Florida (WFNF) billion dollar project to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin.

The Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) seems to know surprisingly little about this joint project with the St Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD).

They don’t know where the water would go into wetlands to “clean” it up some more, and they don’t know where it would go to infiltrate into the Floridan Aquifer.

They don’t have a pilot study and they don’t have wetland site assessments.

Turns out there are a couple of reasons why SRWMD does not know or have those things. But I have found out a few things.

And I have leads to find out much more.

Water First North Florida wetland locations: unknown, No Pilot Study or Wetland Assessments, But here is the RFQ –SRWMD

Back on July 8, 2025, SRWMD Deputy Executive Director of Water Resources Amy Brown gave her board a Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Project Update. It included a few slides on the WFNF, aka North Florida Regional Recharge Project.

North Florida Regional Recharge Project – Conceptualization, 2025-07-08 –SRWMD
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I noticed one of those slides seemed to designate specific locations for “Potential treatment wetland locations” and “Potential recharge locations.”

WATER FIRST NORTH FLORIDA, Potential treatment wetland locations and recharge locations, 2025-07-08 –SRWMD
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So I sent a public records request asking for names and GPS locations.

Their answer: they don’t know the locations.

Slide number 16 was presented as a conceptual graphic. The SRWMD does not have GPS locations of the points on the graphic.

This conceptual graphic has since been updated, shown at the link provided. https://waterfirstnorthfl.com/

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Here is that revised map, which is much vaguer about locations.

Wetlands and Recharge Locations, 2025-12-18 –Water First North Florida

I noticed another slides said “Next Steps” with pictures labeled “Pilot Study,” “Siting Study RFQ,” and “Wetland Site Assessment.”

Water First North Florida, Next Steps: Pilot Study, Siting Study RFQ, Wetland Site Assessment, 2025-07-08 –SRWMD
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Since five months had passed since November, I figured they must have some of that by now. So I sent a public records request for those things.

Their response:

Attached is the SJRWMD RFQ 41325. The SRWMD does not have the pilot study or the wetland site assessments.

The RFQ clarifies some things, and opens more questions.

Here’s a clue as to why SRWMD seems to know little about this project (pages 1-2 of the RFQ):

North Florida Recharge Project Treatment Wetland and Recharge Facility Investigation, Selection and Conceptual Design RFQ 41325, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD Governing Board RFQ 41325
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A District Evaluation Committee (“Committee”) will review and evaluate the Respondents’ qualifications and Project approach, finalize the initial ranking of firms, and determine a shortlist of Respondents.

The Committee will be composed of voting members, all of whom are District employees, and non-voting members, as designated by the following entities (“Project Partners”):

• Suwannee River Water Management District
• Clay County Utility Authority
• Gainesville Regional Utilities
• JEA
• St. Johns County Utility Department

SRWMD is just a non-voting committee member, on a par with GRU and JEA.

The District will conduct the RFQ process as follows:, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
PDF

There’s also this cryptic sentence:

Respondents should note that the Cone of Silence provisions set forth in Paragraph 3 of this solicitation applies equally to the Project Partners.

OK, what’s that?

3. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION & CONE OF SILENCE

   All inquiries related to this solicitation may only be directed to the Contracts Manager:

   Kendall Siemiatkoski, Contracts Manager
   Phone: (386) 312-2324
   Email: ksiemiat@sjrwmd.com

   Between the release of this solicitation and the posting of the notice of intended decision, Respondents to this solicitation or persons acting on their behalf may not contact any employee or officer of the District or its Project Partners concerning any aspect of this solicitation, except the procurement employee listed above. Violation of this Cone of Silence provision is grounds for rejecting a response.

3. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION & CONE OF SILENCE, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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So we have several tax-paid public agencies told not to speak about this project.

Until “the posting of the notice of intended decision,” which has already happened by now.

The District will conduct the RFQ process as follows:

Date	Description
June 26, 2025, 1:00 p.m.	Pre-Submittal Conference (District HQ – In person, or by phone or web conferencing)
July 28, 2025, 2:00 p.m.	Qualifications Submittals due
August 11, 2025, 1:00 p.m.	Committee meets to complete its review of the Submittals and will select not less than three Respondents deemed most highly qualified (District HQ, 4049 Reid St., Palatka, FL 32177, Conf. Rm. 147, Admin. Bldg.) One or more members of the Committee may participate via communications media technology through phone or web conferencing.
August 12, 2025	District Issues Notice of Intended Decision (NOID) notifying Respondents of Rankings
September 9, 2025	District Governing Board consideration to approve a ranking of designated firms and competitive negotiations be instituted
September 10, 2025	District enters negotiations with respondents in ranked order

The District will conduct the RFQ process as follows:, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
PDF

That schedule and the RFQ clarifies why SRWMD does not have a pilot study or wetland site assessments. The consultant is supposed to do those things, and the consultant has apparently only recently been selected.

For who imposed that Cone of Silence, and generally who is running the show, see who issued this RFQ: SJRWMD.

Stay tuned for information from SJRWMD.

Images of the rest of the RFQ are below.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Table of Contents, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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3. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION & CONE OF SILENCE, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Page 6, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Page 7, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Page 8, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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DACons

DRAFT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND CONSULTANT FOR THE NORTH FLORIDA RECHARGE PROJECT TREATMENT WETLAND AND RECHARGE FACILITY INVESTIGATION, SELECTION AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROJECT, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Page 32, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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AttA

ATTACHMENT A —STATEMENT OF WORK, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Location Map, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Identification of potential recharge well sites., 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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identification of potential RIB and/or recharge wetland sites., 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Task 4 – Preliminary Candidate Site Identification and Screening, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Task 5 – Tabletop Site Evaluation of Candidate Sites, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Task 6 – Technical Memoranda, Final Report and Power Point Presentations, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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B. Annual Spending Plan, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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AttB

ATTACHMENT B — INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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Page 59, 2025-07-28 –SJRWMD RFQ 41325
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