SUBJECT
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Update on Upper Peace River Minimum Flows (Information)
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DESCRIPTION
The PRWC Combined Projects Implementation Agreement was executed by the PRWC members in March 2017 for the purpose of implementing approved candidate projects. In 2019 the PRWC and its members amended the Combined Projects Implementation Agreement to include the Peace River Surface Water Supply Project and the PRWC and Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) executed a Cooperative Funding Initiative agreement for $961,100 (District provided 50% funding) to perform a feasibility study of the project. In May of 2022 the PRWC completed a draft report and provided it as a deliverable to the SWFWMD. The report included a conceptual plan for a surface water intake, reservoir, and water treatment facility on the Peace River south of Fort Meade. The projected annual average raw water capacity of the project was estimated at 28 MGD.
In November 2023, the PRWC and District amended the funding agreement to postpone the project until the District completed its reevaluation of the minimum flows for the Upper Peace River. At that time, the District was unwilling to move forward with several project tasks until final revised minimum flows were adopted.
The District is now in the process of adopting revised minimum flows for the Upper Peace River. The revised minimum flows are undergoing peer review with rule adoption scheduled for late 2026. The PRWC Board of Directors allocated funds in the amount of $49,828 at the November 19, 2025, meeting for TeamOne to participate in the peer review/rule process to review the technical competence of the proposed revised minimum flows.
The PRWC and TeamOne have participated in a series of peer review meetings with the District to review the proposed minimum flows. Prior to the final peer review meeting, the PRWC submitted a technical memorandum (Exhibit A) to the District with a series of recommendations:
1) The District should provide additional justification for its reliance on total inundated area (flood plain) as the primary ecological metric for establishing high flow restrictions. Use of a frequency/duration-based metric might be more appropriate;
2) The District should better establish that a 15% loss in inundated area (flood plain) produces measurable ecological harm;
3) The District should consider refining its approach to determine whether specific flow reductions compromise ecological functions rather than relying on a fixed percentage reduction;
4) Most importantly, the District should replace a twelve-month ground water adjustment factor derived from the PRIM2 model with a single annual adjustment rate at each river gage location. This would eliminate operational (for future withdrawals) and ecological deficiencies in the current approach.
Under the District’s proposed revised minimum flows, technical analysis by TeamOne indicates that the PRWC would still have access to an estimated annual average capacity of up to 17-18 MGD from the Peace River based upon how the district responds to the PRWC comments. The Peer Review Committee plans to provide the district with a final draft report in May 2026.
RECOMMENDATION
This item is provided for the Board’s information and no action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Eric DeHaven