WFNF

Water First North Florida (#WFNF) plans to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin.

Ask local, state, and national elected and appointed officials and Water Management Districts (Suwannee and St. Johns) to explain it or stop it. https://wwals.net/?p=69143

https://pluralpolicy.com/find-your-legislator/

Petition: https://c.org/8CgGBpLv7r

[WFNF Landscape Flyer, 2026-05-22]
WFNF Landscape Flyer, 2026-05-22
PDF

More below:

Also ask SRWMD to hold a Public Hearing explaining why this project is better and safer than limiting water withdrawals. Let’s see the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Including evidence about how much JEA’s Buckman Wastewater Treatment Facility actually removes PFAS forever chemicals, drugs, and artificial sweeteners. Plus single points of failure such as sole-source contractors.

Suwannee River Management District
9225 CR 49, Live Oak, FL 32060
Phone: 386.362.1001; Toll Free: 1.800.226.1066
Hugh Thomas, Executive Director, Hugh.Thomas@SRWMD.org
Board members: https://mysuwanneeriver.com/134/Current-Board-Members

Why Not WFNF

The Suwannee River Basin is already downstream from Valdosta wastewater. It doesn’t also need to be downstream from Jacksonville. Sure, we’re poorer than Jacksonville, but we’re not their sacrifice zone.

Two Water Management Districts say this billion-dollar Water First North Florida project would replenish levels and flows in the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers, including the Ichetucknee Headspring, by sending water into the Upper Floridan Aquifer through wetlands. How can this expensive and risky project be the best way to conserve levels and flows in these Outstanding Florida Waters, which are supposed to be worthy of special protection because of their natural attributes? How can risking the source of our drinking water be a good idea?

Surely for a billion dollars Jacksonville, which withdraws more groundwater than any other entity in the area, could do seawater desalination.

[Why is piping treated JAX wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin, better than limiting water withdrawals? Ask FL statehouse and WMD boards]

More about WFNF funding in how it got ratified by sleight of bill 2026-02-25

Update 2026-05-19: SRWMD has no comment on WFNF alleged cancellation 2026-05-15.

Vigilance, please!

On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, we heard from Florida State Senator Corey Simon that “ the Water First North Florida project is being canceled in its current form.”

That’s good news, as far as it goes. And it wouldn’t have happened without all of you who have opposed it.

But it ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings, and the SRWMD Governing Board said nothing about this that same morning. I was there and spoke against WFNF along with about half a dozen other people.

Nor have any of SRWMD, SJRWMD, or JEA said anything since that I’ve seen. And what happened yesterday did nothing to repeal huge financial support for WFNF by JEA and SJRWMD.

So please don’t stop now. Keep on speaking to cities, counties, the state, members of Congress, and the unelected boards that are pushing WFNF: SRWMD, SJRWMD, JEA, plus the Jacksonville City Council.

[More about WFNF funding in how it got ratified by sleight of bill, SB 7034 into HB 1417]
More about WFNF funding in how it got ratified by sleight of bill, SB 7034 into HB 1417

Upcoming meetings about WFNF

Go to a meeting, take pictures and videos, and post them with hashtag #WFNF so people will know.

Many of the meetings listed may not have WFNF on the agenda. Especially if you live there, you can speak and ask them to consider a letter or resolution against WFNF.

Better yet, contact your county commissioner or city councilor in advance and ask them to put a WFNF resolution on the agenda.

Meetings that already happened:

Government bodies against WFNF

Regional entities against WFNF

Local governments against WFNF

How to comment

Ways to make public comments

  • Social media does not count in the public record,
    • But can be good for getting people involved.
  • In person gets the attention of a decision-maker.
    • May not leave a record unless you’re at a recorded public meeting.
  • Telephone is often the most effective
    • Each call is usually logged (at least for statehouse or Congress)
    • and is taken to represent many more people who did not call
  • Written comments are best for anything complicated or detailed
    • Even if you telephone or speak, also send a written comment
  • Petitions get attention, but individual comments even more so

When you comment:

  • be polite
  • be brief
  • be specific
  • say something different from what everybody else said
  • tie it to your experience and to evidence
  • connect to the larger picture

All in a memorable way, of course.

Don’t worry if you can’t do all of the above.

Do what you can. Much better than doing nothing.

Framing

Don’t think of an elephant.
Go ahead, try it.

Frame from your values, experience, and evidence, such as:

References

Background

On wwals.net, use the search box for WFNF to find the latest.

 -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/