SUBJECT
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Approve Memorandum of Understanding with Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC and South Ft. Meade Partnership, L.P., LTD. Regarding Water Supply and Water Reservoir Planning and Development (Action)
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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 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. However, even if the revised minimum flows were implemented by the District, technical analysis by TeamOne indicates that the PRWC would still have access to an estimated annual average capacity of 17 MGD from the Peace River.
In April 2025 Mosaic Fertilizer approached the PRWC regarding a possible reservoir location to the east of the Peace River just above the Hardee/Polk County line in the South Fort Meade Mine area. Mosaic has indicated that active mining in this area will conclude within the next eight to ten years which would support an alternative use of the Mosaic land by the PRWC associated with a Peace River Water Supply Project. In support of this concept, the PRWC and Mosaic have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (Exhibit A) that will allow the PRWC to investigate the Mosaic South Fort Meade Mine site as a potential Peace River intake and reservoir location over the next two years.
The Memorandum of Understanding will allow the PRWC to conduct engineering studies associated with:
1) Property owned by Mosaic in the South Fort Meade Mine area and along the Mosaic railroad spur and trestle leading to the Peace River;
2) Mosaic’s SFM-8 clay settling area that has been excavated by mining and is oriented between existing berms which could allow for savings on reservoir construction;
3) Other Mosaic infrastructure which could potentially be repurposed for water infrastructure.
The term of the agreement expires on December 31, 2028 and there is no cost directly associated with the agreement. The PRWC plans to request $225,000 in the Fiscal Year FY2027 budget for engineering feasibility studies under this agreement.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Memorandum of Understanding with Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC and South Ft. Meade Partnership, L.P., LTD. regarding water supply and water reservoir planning and development.
FISCAL IMPACT
In order to adequately investigate this opportunity, PRWC staff plans to budget $225,000 in the FY2027 Combined Projects Budget and request Board approval through the budget process.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Eric DeHaven