Packet: WFNF opposition @ Union County BOCC 2026-05-18

Assuming the Commissioners pass this at their 6 PM Monday meeting, Union County will become the seventh county (plus the Town of Branford) to pass a letter or resolution against Water First North Florida (WFNF), the plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin.

For which counties, the Task Force and NCFRPC resolutions that represent all 12 counties in the Suwannee District, and who you can contact, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Packet: WFNF opposition to SRWMD @ Union County BOCC, 2026-05-18

See Agenda, Regular Meeting, May 18, 2026, 6:00 P.M.

https://union-clerk.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2026/05/14144906/5.18.26-Regular-Meeting-Packet-Web.pdf

Union County Board of County Commissioners
15 Northeast 1st Street, Lake Butler, FL 32054 * Phone: 386-496-4241 * Fax: 386-496-4240
Ms. Virginia Johns, Chair
Suwannee River Water Management District
9225 CR 49 Live Oak, Florida 32060
Re: Opposition to the Water First North Florida Project
Dear Ms. Johns:
Union County joins with its fellow members of the Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochie River Task Force, as well as the numerous counties, municipalities, and citizen groups who who have all expressed concerns about, and opposition to, the proposed Water First North Florida Project. In the apparent rush to implement this project, local governments have gone uninformed and local voices in opposition have been largely ignored until just recently. We are grateful for legislative intervention that has, for the time being, stayed the execution of this project, but we remain alert to the potential for it to re-commence in the future and therefore wish to express our opposition.

It has long been understood by the scientific community that heavy withdrawal of water from the Floridan Aquifer for municipal use in the more heavily-populated northeast Florida region has taxed groundwater resources in north central Florida, resulting in lower flows and levels in local springs and waterways, including the outstanding Florida Waters of the Suwannee and Ichetucknee Rivers, as well as the Santa Fe River, which forms Union County’s southern border. Union County’s local waters and the adjacent Olustee Creek and New River are also affected by this phenomenon.

The Water First North Florida Project has proposed to remedy this longstanding problem by the transfer of 40 million gallons per day of treated wastewater from the Northeastern region into the Floridan Aquifer at an as-yet undisclosed location in the North Central Florida region. The proposed treatment of this water to avoid contamination of this still largely-pristine resource has been poorly disclosed, beyond the inclusion of biological filtering via an artificial wetland of the type that has been used to treat runoff surface waters elsewhere.

Union County joins with other local governments and citizens groups who have expressed reservations about the potential efficacy of such treatment on municipal wastewaters, which may be contaminated with much more difficult pollutants to treat than mere surface runoff. At the least, the proposed methods of treatment, and what safeguards will be used to ensure that treatment is successful, should be more thoroughly disclosed and opened to public scientific debate.

It is understandable that a “quick fix” of diverting reclaimed wastewater back to its ultimate source may seem a tempting solution both to the longstanding problem of the lowering aquifer as well as the issue of the need for disposal of such wastewater by heavily-populated municipalities. However, the potential risk to the ultimate source of our drinking water, as well as the lifeblood of our precious springs and waterways, is far too great to be taken so lightly. The potential for disaster to our local citizens health, safety, and welfare urges the upmost caution.

Therefore, the Union County Board of County Commissioners, by unanimous vote in its public meeting of May 18, 2026, joins in full with Resolution 2026-01 of the Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochie River Task Force Opposing the Water First North Florida Aquifer Recharge Project, as well as the numerous resolutions and letters of opposition submitted by our sister counties and local municipalities. Union County strongly urges the District to reconsider all alternatives to this project, and to devote more effort into transparency by informing and educating the affected local governments and citizens of the internal plans and deliberations of the District.

Very Truly Yours,
[signed]
Channing Dobbs
Chair, Union County Board of County Commissioners
BOARD MEMBERS:
DONNA JACKSON, District 1 * CHANNING DOBBS, District 2 * MELISSA MCNEAL, District 3 * MAC JOHNS District 4 * WILLIE CROFT, District 5
KELLIE HENDRICKS RHOADES Clerk of Courts & Comptroller
RUSSELL WADE County Attorney

Agenda, 2026-05-18 –Union County BOCC
PDF

Opposition to the Water First North Florida Project, 2026-05-18 –Union County BOCC
PDF

5.18.26-Regular-Meeting-Packet-Web-0005 Union County strongly urges the District to reconsider all alternatives to this project…, 2026-05-18 –Union County BOCC
PDF

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-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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https://wwals.net/donations/