Cost-Share Funds for Water Projects

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is accepting applications for its Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) cost-share program. The program expedites water resource development and alternative water supply projects on agricultural properties by providing funding assistance to implement production-scale best management practices (BMPs).

To qualify for funding, projects must be located in the SWFWMD and include one or more of the following BMP strategies:

• Utilize an alternative water supply or technology to reduce groundwater use.
• Improve irrigation water quality and watershed ecology by reducing reliance on poorer quality groundwater.

The program is designed to serve as an incentive to the agricultural community to promote water quantity, water quality and natural systems BMPs to conserve groundwater use and promote resource sustainability.

Examples of commonly used BMPs include:

• Weather stations and soil moisture sensors with telemetry
• Riser culverts and water-controlled structures
• Surface water or tailwater irrigation pumps and filters
• Remote irrigation zone controls and soil moisture and climate sensor telemetry
• Fertigation systems
• Cold protection measures

FARMS is a public/private partnership developed by SWFWMD and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It focuses on Upper Floridan aquifer withdrawal savings throughout SWFWMD as well as water quality and natural systems improvements in targeted Water Use Caution Areas and priority watersheds.

FARM goals include:

• Improve water quality within the Shell, Prairie and Joshua Creek Watersheds.
• Improve natural systems in the Upper Myakka River Watershed.
• Reduce groundwater use within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA).
• Reduce groundwater use within the Most Impacted Area (MIA). The MIA is an area specifically affected by groundwater withdrawals within the SWUCA. It’s about 700 square miles and located along the southern Hillsborough, Manatee and northwestern Sarasota counties.
• Reduce groundwater use within the Central Florida Water Initiative region.
• Reduce cold protection groundwater use within the Dover/Plant City Water Use Caution Area.
• Implement agricultural BMPs to reduce groundwater use and reduce nutrient loading. 

Project guidelines include:

• Growers manage their projects and are reimbursed for approved expenses.
• Reimbursement can amount to as much as 50% to 75% of total project costs.
• SWFWMD and grower(s) enter into a signed and executed contractual agreement for the FARMS project with a contract duration of generally 5 to 10 years.
• Growers are responsible for obtaining all project-related permits and must have SWFWMD authorization prior to incurring approved reimbursable expenses.
• Permitted water use allocations are not reduced.

For a complete set of the FARMS Program Rules, refer to FARMS Governing Board Policy here.

Source: SWFWMD  

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