Why do three unelected boards want to spend $1.1 billion for a bad solution to two water problems?

The plan is to pipe treated wastewater from the JEA Buckman wastewater plant more than 60 miles into the Suwannee Basin to replenish wetlands and raise flows and levels in springs and rivers. It’s called Water First North Florida (WFNF),1  and it’s wasteful, slow, fragile, and based on unproven technology. It also risks the health of our fragile aquifer.

If it’s clean enough to drink, Jacksonville can drink it. If it’s not, why should the Suwannee Basin accept it to contaminate wetlands, seep into groundwater where cave divers and rare species swim, and come back up in drinking water wells and springs and rivers where people and animals swim? All twelve Suwannee Basin counties have approved a resolution against WFNF and for seawater desalination or other solutions.2

The proposal is being pushed by the unelected boards of JEA (Jacksonville’s private water and wastewater utility), and the Suwannee and St. Johns River Water Management Districts (SJRWMD and SRWMD).

The $1.1 billion cost estimate does not include building the pipelines, nor the cost of obtaining rights of way, nor operational costs. Why should people in the St. Johns Basin accept likely rate increases from cost overruns, operational costs, and lawsuits about pipelines and by neighboring landowners? JEA should line up with its own customers, “JEA is dedicated to serving our customers and delivering reliable, sustainable services at reasonable rates.”3  

Better than treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee Basin, Water First North Florida

In May we heard that, “ the Water First North Florida project is being canceled in its current form . ”4  Actually, the state legislature zeroed a $20 million line item for WFNF. 5  But that’s peanuts compared to the combined $525 million already dedicated by JEA and SJRWMD, plus more promised by FDEP.

It ain’t dead yet.

People in both basins get to vote in local, state, and federal elections. WFNF should be an issue.

The Problems

1. Low levels and flows of springs, rivers, and the Floridan Aquifer and drying wetlands are a real problem, for wildlife, recreation, and drinking water, especially in the Suwannee Basin.6

2. SB 64 (passed in 2021)7  requires wastewater outflows into rivers to cease in 2032 (or maybe later8 ) unless they are basically drinking water quality. This bill is likely what caused JEA’s board in November 2025 to dedicate $400 million to WFNF9  and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to dedicate $125 million.10  

SB 64 got a loophole added a few years later: if the outflow goes to replenish wetlands or increase levels and flows in springs and rivers,11  it doesn’t have to be clean enough to drink. That loophole conveniently matches WFNF.

Better Solutions

L ess expensive, faster, and more robust solutions to each of these problems start with reducing the biggest source of water withdrawals12  from the Floridan Aquifer in north Florida: Jacksonville.13  That would improve levels and flows in the Suwannee Basin. Potable reuse (recycling wastewater), brackish desalination of the St. Johns River, or seawater desalination are all better approaches to allowing our aquifer to recharge.

Potable Reuse

Other states already recycle wastewater for everything from watering lawns and golf courses to drinking.

If JEA can’t remove PFAS forever chemicals and pharmaceuticals from wastewater, why should the Suwannee Basin accept it to contaminate our recreational wetlands, aquifer, springs, and rivers, and the plants and animals that live there?

If they can clean it up that much, why not feed it into Jacksonville’s drinking water? That would solve problem 2 (SB 64) and help with problem 1 (low levels and flows). Or at least use it for industry, lawns, and the like.

Brackish Water Desalination

Philadelphia drinks from the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.14  Jacksonville can drink from the St. Johns River. There are 41 brackish water desalination projects in south Florida (and two seawater desalination plants), according to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).15  If they can do it, JAX can do it.

Seawater Desalination

SJRWMD, SRWMD, and their partners dismissed seawater desalination as too expensive, too difficult to dispose of the resulting brine, and not solving SB 64.16

But these agencies only considered a few projects in north Florida. It took only a few hours to identify half a dozen seawater desalination projects17  in the Middle East and Australia that each cost less per million gallons per day (mgd) to build than WFNF, produce more mgd than WFNF, and took only 4 to 5 years to build, not the 13+ years of WFNF. For operational energy, Florida is the Sunshine State: use solar panels and batteries.According to JEA,18  “Generating power from the sun is one of the cleanest and greenest ways to produce electricity.”

Water First North Florida, 2025-07-08 –SRWMD Staff

Regarding brine disposal, the obvious course is to ask those projects what they do with it. Or ask the numerous Texas projects,19  such as the South Texas seawater desalination project,20  which is designed to produce 100 mgd of drinking water.

Or look at the numerous research projects on better undersea brine dispersal or even on turning brine into marketable commodities. Sure, those are research. But so are JEA’s attempts to remove PFAS and pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater. Even for those attempts, there are already solutions elsewhere, on the U.S. west coast.

What Counties and the People Think

Two letters sum up the Suwannee Basin reaction to WFNF.

When the Suwannee County Commission pressed a SRWMD representative on whether they got to vote on WFNF, the answer was: “No.”21  The Commissioners and the people of the Suwannee Basin do not take kindly to that answer. Suwannee County’s letter to SRWMD concludes,  “Once the spigot is turned on, it is impossible to predict the consequences which will impact literally every person in the area. Our citizens should not suffer the consequences of such hubris.”22

The Hamilton County Commission wrote to SRWMD, “ Finally, the Board must note the utter disrespect that has been shown to the Board and citizens of Hamilton County.”23

There are letters or resolutions from eight counties and one town so far. And all twelve counties in the Suwannee District signed on to two resolutions against WFNF and asking for better solutions. See https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf  

Let’s hear what people, cities, and counties in the St. Johns Basin think about this bad WFNF plan.

What Is To Be Done

WFNF needs to be halted until there is real research into how to solve both problems in better ways.

And until those solutions have real oversight by elected officials.

A few years ago, after massive public opposition, the governor withdrew the plan to put golf courses in state parks. The next year the legislature passed a law against doing that.24

The legislature should pass a law prohibiting inter-basin transfers of wastewater, treated or not.

And the legislature should fund and direct potable reuse and desalination to fix both problems. Not just for Jacksonville and the Suwannee Basin, for all of Florida.

You Can Help

There’s an election going on. Ask all the candidates about this.

Meanwhile, ask the JEA, SJRWMD, and SRWMD boards, and all your elected officials to stop WFNF and to provide better solutions to both problems.

John S. Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper and the Executive Director of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit working to keep the waters clean in the 10,000 square miles of the Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia. https://wwals.net

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For much more about WFNF, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman discusses the constitutional right to clean water for Georgia and Florida, 2022-06-11, Waterkeeper Alliance global conference. –Rodrigo de la O, Maule Itata Coastkeeper, Chile.

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Endnotes

1 .  “Water First North Florida,” SJRWMD, SRWMD, FDEP, et al., accessed June 15, 2026, https://waterfirstnorthfl.com ,  “Water First North Florida is a collaborative effort of the St. Johns River Water Management District, Suwannee River Water Management District, and other key stakeholder organizations including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and local utilities.”

2 .  “RESOLUTION NO. 2026-01: A RESOLUTION OF THE MIDDLE AND LOWER SUWANNEE RIVER AND WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER TASK FORCE OPPOSING THE WATER FIRST NORTH FLORIDA AQUIFER RECHARGE PROJECT AND RECOMMENDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE WATER DESALINIZATION PROJECT,” Middle and Lower Suwannee River and Withlacoochee River Task Force, March 18, 2026, in “Dozen Florida Counties Task Force Resolution against WFNF and for Desalination 2026-03-18,” WWALS.net , March 12, 2026, updated with passage March 18, 2026, https://wwals.net/?p=69639  

3 .  “About JEA,” JEA, Accessed June 15, 2026, https://www.jea.com/About/  

4 .  “Update on the Water First North Florida Project,” Sen. Corey Simon, facebook, May 12, 2026, https://www.facebook.com/SimonForFL/posts/pfbid0yoKnmQsuNactpVB5Sy63Q6hA5M8mawBqZvtBAXbk1uU3ShXfayv3n7G8HDJKeNK9l

5 .   “G/A-Water First Nfl”, line 152, in “ House of Representatives Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee/Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Conference Spreadsheet ,” May 12, 2026, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Conferences/2026/Show/ConferenceOffer/1235_Senate%20Offer%201%20%20Budget,%20Non%20water,%20Proviso,%20BOB,%20IB,%202506E_1629.pdf  

6 .  “Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers (LSFIR) and Priority Springs Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs),” FDEP, Accessed June 15, 2026, https://floridadep.gov/owper/water-policy/content/lower-santa-fe-and-ichetucknee-rivers-lsfir-and-priority-springs-minimum  

7 .  CS/SB 64: Reclaimed Water, Florida Senate, Effective Date: June 29, 2021, https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/64  

8 .  “FL statutes give JEA until 2032 or 2039 or 2044 to divert its wastewater –Joe Squitieri @ SCRP 2026-04-02,” John S. Quarterman, WWALS.net, April 17, 2026, https://wwals.net/?p=70075  

9 .  “JEA board approves $400M for project to recharge Floridan Aquifer, restore springs, ensure sustainable water supply: The board also approved $260.3 million increase to power purchase agreement with FPL,” Marcela Camargo, new4jax.com, November 19, 2025, https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/11/19/jea-board-approves-400m-for-project-to-recharge-floridan-aquifer-restore-springs-ensure-sustainable-water-supply/  

10 .  “As required by statute, SJRWMD’s financial contribution to Water First North Florida will be limited to the share of impacts to the MFL Compliance Points resulting from water withdrawals in the SJRWMD region, estimated at $100–125 million,” on page 34, "Attachment A: Statement of Estimated Regulatory Costs — Summary of SERC Economic Assessment, Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs Minimum Flows and Levels and Implementation Strategy," Florida Department of Environmental Protection, October 2, 2025, https://floridadep.gov/owper/water-policy/documents/attachment-lsfir-serc-summary-serc-economic-assessment  

11 .  “The discharge provides direct ecological or public water supply benefits, such as rehydrating wetlands or implementing the requirements of minimum flows and minimum water levels or recovery or prevention strategies for a waterbody.” Florida Statutes 403.064(17)(a)3.e., https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/403.064  See also “FL SB 64: Reclaimed Water, JEA Buckman Wastewater Plant, and WFNF 2021-06-29,” John S. Quarterman, WWALS.net , February 17, 2026, https://wwals.net/?p=69428  

12 .  “ Florida Springs and Aquifer Dilemma ,”  Dr. Robert Knight, Florida Springs Institute, May 9, 2026, in “Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Pumping –Dr. Bob Knight 2026-05-09,” WWALS.net , May 16, 2026 , https://wwals.net/?p=70338

13 .  “JEA delivers more than 120 million gallons of water each day to our customers.” in “Jacksonville’s Drinking Water System,” JEA, accessed June 15, 2026, https://www.jea.com/about/water_supply/  

14 .  “Where Philly’s drinking water comes from: Where you live in the city determines which of its two rivers you drink from.” Frank Kummer , The Philadelphia Inquirer,  March 27, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-water-treatment-plants-map-delaware-schuylkill-river-20230327.html  

15 .  “Desalination,” SFWMD, accessed June 15, 2026, https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/alternative-water-supply/desalination  

16 .  "North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan Project Conceptualization Partnership," Clay County Utility Authority, GRU, JEA, St. Johns County, SJRWMD, SRWMD, January 2025, in "How WFNF was chosen and desalination was rejected –SRWMD 2025-01-01," WWALS.net, https://wwals.net/?p=69648  

17 .  “NAQA’A Desalination Plant in Umm Al Quwain, U.A.E. 2019-07-09,” John S. Quarterman, wwals.net, March 25, 2026,   https://wwals.net/?p=69861  

18 .  “ Solar Options,” JEA, Accessed June 15, 2026, https://www.jea.com/solar/  

19 .  “The Future of Desalination in Texas: 2024 Biennial Report on Seawater and Brackish Groundwater Desalination in Texas,” 89th Texas Legislative Session, December 1, 2024, https://www.twdb.texas.gov/innovativewater/desal/doc/2024_TheFutureofDesalinationinTexas.pdf  

20 .  “IDE Technologies to Build Western Hemisphere’s Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in South Texas: Nueces River Authority selects IDE Technologies to develop the 100-million-gallon-per-day Harbor Island Desalination Facility,” H2O Global News, June 11, 2026, https://h2oglobalnews.com/ide-technologies-harbor-island-desalination-south-texas/  

21 .  Presentation to Suwannee County BOCC, Troy Roberts of SRWMD, Suwannee County YouTube channel, March 17, 2026, https://youtu.be/AS8bk_Qp-sw?si=G_aHhuvTPM1D-mQP&t=322  

22 .  “Re: Suwannee County’s Objection to Water First North Florida Project,” Suwannee County BOCC, agenda packet for March 17, 2026, https://suwanneecofl.portal.civicclerk.com/event/25/files/agenda/1062 , also in “Letter against WFNF to SRWMD –Suwannee County Commission 2026-03-17,” WWALS.net , March 16, 2026, https://wwals.net/?p=69669

23 .  “Re: Hamilton County’s Objection to Water First North Florida Project,” Hamilton County BOCC, March 24, 2026, in “Hamilton County Commission against the utter disrespect of SRWMD and JEA about WFNF 2023-03-24,” WWALS.net , April 1, 2026 , https://wwals.net/?p=69937  

24 .  “CS/CS/HB 209 (2025) – State Land Management,” Florida House of Representatives, Effective Date: July 1, 2025, https://housedocs.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=80751 ; see also “DeSantis signs bill to ban golf courses, pickleball courts in Florida state parks,” News Service of Florida, NBC Miami, May 23, 2025, https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/desantis-signs-bill-to-ban-golf-courses-pickleball-courts-on-florida-state-parks/3621433/  

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