A few pullquotes sum it up:

“The entire area JEA serves uses 120 million gallons. Remember that Texas plant, one plant does 100 million gallons. There’s no reason it has to be all in one place,” said Quarterman. “It doesn’t have to take more than a dozen years to come online.”

Around 50 people attended the town hall, with the majority of attendees being older. None of the attendees who spoke out favored the Suwannee River Water Management District’s plan to strengthen the water supply. The main concerns of the project were over where funding would come from, project logistics, and the safety behind drinking recycled water.

“One of my biggest concerns with this project is that it’s introducing contamination that’s extremely expensive to test for, to even know it’s there, much less manage and treat,” said Hailey Hall, a groundwater monitor.

Area resident Ed Lee expressed his dissatisfaction with the plan approved by the Suwannee River Water Management District in November 2025 to address potable water issues. “Nobody has talked anything about money,” said Ed Lee. “Today you’re talking $1 billion. What the hell do you think it’s gonna cost with the time it gets there? It’ll be $15 billion.”

The article has more.

Nobody liked Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee Basin at a Live Oak meeting 2026-02-05, News by WUFT 2026-02-19

Jessica Wilkinson, WUFT, February 19, 2026, Suwannee County residents unhappy with a $1 billion dollar water supply plan,

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Almost everyone attending a Suwannee County GOP town hall on Feb. 5 again opposed a plan to recharge the Floridan aquifer with treated Jacksonville wastewater.

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