The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with state and local officials last month to celebrate the Scott Water Farm. The farm is a public-private partnership with Evans Properties, Inc. in Indian River and Okeechobee counties. Its purpose is to store water and improve water quality.
The farm will store more than 9 billion gallons of local storm water runoff and was designed to reduce harmful estuary discharges. The project will retain onsite rainfall. It will also pump water from the C-25 Canal and store it on approximately 7,500 acres of privately owned land. The project has the capability to reduce more than 3 metric tons of total phosphorus and more than 13 metric tons of total nitrogen per year.
Scott Water Farm is a joint effort between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, SFWMD, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Evans Properties, Inc.
According to SFWMD, the project was designed to reduce harmful estuary discharges and can store more than 29,000 acre-feet of water per year. SFWMD also stated that Gov. Ron DeSantis prioritized public-private partnerships like this one as part of his effort to do more for Florida’s environment and improve water quality around the state. The project is funded by the Florida Legislature.
SFWMD continues to advance important Everglades restoration projects that will send more water south, reduce harmful discharges and improve water quality in South Florida.
“Florida’s future water supply lies in the agricultural areas of the state, and private-public partnerships will help provide abundant quality water for its growing population,” said Indian River Citrus League Executive Vice President Doug Bournique. He is a member of the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Learn more about the project, including its role in improving the health of the St. Lucie Estuary, from Audubon Florida.
Source: Indian River Citrus League
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