This document appears to show the process by which SRWMD, SJRWMD, FDEP, JEA, and three other water utilities decided on Water First North Florida (WFNF), their plan to pipe treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin.

For much more about WFNF, see:

https://wwals.net/issues/wfnf

Thanks to Amy Brown, SRWMD Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources, for sending this document.

A copy of the document is on the WWALS website, and images of each page are below.

The discussion below is my opinion and nobody at SRWMD is responsible for it.

How WFNF was chosen and desalination was rejected, SRWMD, SJRWD, JEA, FDEP, et al., January 2025

Notably missing from the options that were considered is wells at wetlands below planted pine plantations, as proposed by Dennis J. Price, PG, back in 2016. No reason is given for why.

Page 34 has a summary of why desalination was rejected:

Desalination (for comparative reference- not recommended for further study): Several desalination alternatives were considered in the evaluation. Desalination at Coquina would desalinate ocean water from the east coast in the Jacksonville area and pump it to the conceptual recharge area. Desalination at the Gulf Coast would desalinate water from a location on the west coast and pump it to the recharge area. The Pumping Replacement alternative would desalinate saltwater from the Jacksonville area and replace groundwater as a water supply for all four participating utilities. The desalination alternatives are not recommended for further evaluation because of:
1) High capital and operation and maintenance cost, partly due to the treatment process itself, and partly due to the high cost of brine disposal,
2) Managing brine disposal incurs significant technical and regulatory challenges,
3) Replacement of all four participating utility groundwater pumping with desalinated seawater would not meet the full MFL requirements, and
4) Ocean desalination does not address the requirements of Senate Bill 64 to put reclaimed water to beneficial use.

Let’s address each of those four points: Continue reading →