More on how WFNF is not done yet, including that contributing projects are still going.
Cost is one of many reasons for the massive public opposition to Water First North Florida (WFNF), the plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin.
The WFNF cost estimate was $1 billion in July 2025, but had ballooned to $1.1 billion by February 2026. That’s 10% inflation in six months.
Even that higher estimate expressly does not include the cost of the pipeline or eminent domain, not to mention likely lawsuits.
Another reason is that few people trust JEA to clean up the wastewater or to keep the pipeline system working without failures.
Another is that nobody got to vote on WFNF except the unelected boards of JEA and the St. Johns and Suwannee River Water Management Districts (SJRWMD and SRWMD).
![[WFNF not done yet --Florida Alligator 2026-06-14, Stacie Greco, Alachua County, Sarah Younger, SSGSCFL]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-06-14--alligator-wfnf/many.jpg)
Much more about WFNF here:
Julianna Bendeck, the independent florida alligator, June 14, 2026, Why the Water First North Florida project may not be done just yet: The state cancelled the $1 billion aquifer recharge proposal amid drought conditions,
Although state officials abandoned the original Water First North Florida proposal, research associated with the project continues.
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