Tag Archives: SB 7034

WFNF approved as part of NFRWSP –SRWMD 2025-11-12

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Here is what the SRWMD Board approved on November 12, 2025, regarding Water First North Florida (WFNF).

Please note three things.

  1. Although I’ve heard some people say the SRWMD Board only approved studies of the feasibilty of the plan, not WFNF itself, nothing in the agenda or the memorandum says that. Nothing in the minutes, either.
  2. These SRWMD materials are similar to those for the SJRWMD Board meeting of the same day, but they do not include an Order approving any of this, they say nothing about hiring a consultant, and they do not include the related RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for the consultant.
  3. Neither WFNF nor its long name appears in the SRWMD agenda item nor the staff memorandum on what the board was to approve. In the agenda, this item is:
    “WR Page 1 26. 2025 Implementation Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs”

    Water First North Florida first appears in the Table of Contents of the “2025 Implementation Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs” for its page 12.

[WFNF approved as part of NFRWSP by SRWMD, November 12, 2025]
WFNF approved as part of NFRWSP by SRWMD, November 12, 2025

On page 69 of the SRWMD board packet for November 12, 2026:

SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
MEMORANDUM

TO: Governing Board

FROM: Amy Brown, Deputy Executive Director, Water Resources

THRU: Hugh Thomas, Executive Director

DATE: October 30, 2025

RE: 2025 Implementation Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs

RECOMMENDATION
District staff recommend the following Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers related actions:

  1. Approve the 2025 Implementation Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs (LSFIR) Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) (hereafter the 2025 Implementation Strategy); and
  2. Approve an Addendum to the 2014 Recovery Strategy for the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority Springs Minimum Flows and Levels (hereafter the 2014 Recovery Strategy) to include the water supply development, water resource development, and water conservation projects identified in the 2025 Implementation Strategy; and
  3. Approve an Addendum to the 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (hereafter the First Addendum to the 2023 NFRWSP), to include the water supply development, water resource development, and water conservation projects identified in the 2025 Implementation Strategy.

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Florida Senate Bill would send treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin –WTXL 2026-03-03

Update 2026-03-09: Chance to speak to SRWMD at its Board Meeting, 9 AM, Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

Thanks to Lyric Sloan for a WTXL TV report from the Florida Senate Rules Committee Tuesday.

Environmental advocates are pushing back, warning the plan could introduce contaminants and fails to address what John Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, calls the root cause of declining river flows: over-pumping from the aquifer.

[FL SB 7034 would send treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee Basin --WTXL 2026-03-03]
FL SB 7034 would send treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee Basin –WTXL 2026-03-03

“It’s a risky project,” Quarterman said. “There’s no evidence that it takes out PFAs for other chemicals or drugs, pharmaceuticals, and right now that plant is under a consent order for exceeding all sorts of limits.”

Quarterman and other opponents argue Jacksonville should instead reduce its groundwater withdrawals or pursue alternative water sources, such as the St. Johns River or desalination.

Keep calling your Florida statehouse members, SRWMD, etc. For who and how, see:

https://wwals.net/?p=69583

And there’s a petition you can sign: https://c.org/8CgGBpLv7r

If you want assistance with how to craft a comment, come to the WWALS Workshop,
5-6:30 PM, Wednesday, March 18, 2026,
at the Live Oak Public Library, 1848 Ohio Ave S, Live Oak, FL 32064.

https://wwals.net/?p=69575

And don’t forget SRWMD’s own public meeting,
6-8 PM, Thursday, March 19, 2026,
at SRWMD HQ 9225 County Road 49, Live Oak FL 32060.

https://wwals.net/?p=69504

Lyric Sloan, WTXL TV, 7:42 PM, Mar 03, 2026, Florida Senate Bill would send treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin: SB 7034 would pipe treated Jacksonville wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin to stabilize river flows, but critics warn of contamination risks, while supporters believe it could help agriculture,

DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A proposed Florida Senate Bill would allow treated wastewater from Jacksonville to be piped into the Suwannee River Basin in an effort to stabilize water flows in the Lower Santa Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers.

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