SUBJECT
title
Update on the Development of Minimum Flows for the Upper Peace River and Request to Use Funds for PRWC Technical Review (Action)
body
DESCRIPTION
The PRWC completed the Peace River/Land Use Transition Project (Q133) in May 2023. This project is an alternative water supply feasibility project to use the Peace River as a supply source. The project was co-funded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). The final report included a conceptual plan for a surface water intake and water treatment facility on the Peace River south of Fort Meade. The project supply capacity was estimated at up to 28 MGD. Further work on this project was suspended due to the SWFWMD planned minimum flow revision and PRWC's focus upon the Southeast and West Polk Lower Floridan Wellfield Projects. The PRWC BOD approved the suspension at the May 17, 2023 Board of Directors meeting.
SWFWMD is now completing the process of setting revised minimum flows for the Upper Peace River. Minimum flows are defined as limits for water bodies that prevent significant harm to water resources and ecology due to water withdrawals. The next step in the SWFWMD process will be to conduct an independent scientific peer review of its revised minimum flow. SWFWMD will voluntarily subject all scientific and technical data, methodologies, models and assumptions used to support development of minimum flows for the river to technical review. The review will be conducted by a panel of three independent, recognized experts in fields relevant to the development of minimum flows.
Preliminary analysis by the PRWC (TeamOne - Carollo) has indicated that the revised draft minimum flow proposed by SWFWMD would reduce future PRWC withdrawals from approximately 28 MGD to 17 MGD. Because of this expected impact on PRWC's future water supplies, staff would like to retain its own expert to participate in the peer review process and review the technical competence of the proposed minimu...
Click here for full text