'No more cheap water': Polk cooperative begins drilling to ensure future water supply
Published on: April 7th, 2023
Project will connect to cities through 61-mile pipeline.
EAST POLK COUNTY — The trailer holding the drill rig has a Texas license plate.
The equipment has probably been used for oil drilling in the Lone Star State, speculated Eric DeHaven, executive director of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative. The machinery is now being deployed to forge a deep well under the sands of eastern Polk County.
The subterranean commodity being sought is not oil but another resource that is becoming scarce and increasingly valuable in Florida: water.
Two drilling rigs tower above Walk-in-Water Road, east of Babson Park and north of Frostproof, near the Nalcrest community. The twin structures, resembling oversized Erector Sets trailing wires and cables, reflect the first phase of the Southeast Wellfield, an ambitious, multi-year project intended to ensure water supplies in eastern Polk County for the next two decades.
The Southeast Wellfield, one of two planned for Polk County, represents the county's first effort to drill into the Lower Floridan Aquifer, a vast underground reservoir. The Polk Regional Water Cooperative, a partnership among the county and 15 cities, has determined that the projects are necessary as some cities approach the limit of allowed withdrawals from the Upper Floridan Aquifer, the main source of water for
most of Florida.
“The bottom line is there is no more cheap water,” said Polk County Commissioner
George Lindsey, chair of the PRWC.
While cities have previously provided their own water supplies through wells into the upper aquifer, the challenge of ensuring future water sources prompted the creation of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative in 2017.
Most cities have decided that the collective approach is their best option for tapping the lower aquifer, an endeavor that would be too difficult and costly for most to tackle individually.
The Southeast Wellfield will sink pipes to depths of 1,600 to 2,000 feet, far below the typical well depths of 700 to 800 feet into the upper aquifer. Florida’s underground water pockets are separated by thick sections of rock, and water nearer the surface requires little processing before it is suitable for drinking and other household uses.
By contrast, the water in the Lower Floridan Aquifer is brackish, containing higher levels of salt and minerals. For that reason, the PRWC will use a process called reverse osmosis, pushing the water under pressure through semi-permeable filters to remove the unwanted elements.
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Injecting brine underground
The Southeast Wellfield project will include a processing plant north of State Road 60, a few miles from the well site. Construction is set to begin in July 2024.
The treated water will be pumped into a 61-mile network of underground pipes, connecting to the water systems of Polk County and the participating cities. The current design calls for pipes extending as far north as Davenport in the first phase and west to Lakeland Highlands in the second phase.
Water won’t begin flowing through the Southeast Wellfield pipes until 2027. At that point, the water will blend with the municipalities’ current water supplies.
The reverse-osmosis treatment will result in leftover brine, typically equal to about one-fourth of the fresh water shipped, DeHaven said. The PRWC plans to drill injection wells and pump the byproduct as deep as 6,000 feet underground, where it will be separated by the rock structure from the fresh water supply.
The Southeast Wellfield project will eventually contain five wells that will ultimately generate as much as 12.5 million gallons of water a day, DeHaven said.
A second source of alternative water, the West Polk Wellfield, is scheduled to begin construction in fall 2025. Located west of Lakeland, the site will provide a projected 10 million gallons of water a day when completed in 2028.
A.C. Schultes of Florida, the drilling contractor, began work at the Southeast Wellfield site in November. Guided by geologists from another company, WSP, contractors are first drilling a pair of shafts, one for a production well and the other for a monitoring well.
The site is on the east side of Walk-in-Water Road, near the entrance to Walk-in-Water Lake Estates, a small subdivision. The wellfield is actually on land overseen by the South Florida Water Management District, which issued permits for the wells, but the treatment facility will be in Swiftmud's territory, and the project will serve water demands in its district, Swiftmud spokesperson Susanna Martinez Tarokh said.
DeHaven said that many factors figured into the selection of the wellfield, which stretches for about 10 miles along Walk-in-Water Road from SR 60 to County Road 630. Testing determined that the freshest water in the lower aquifer could be found in the midrange of the wellfield, on land already owned by Polk County.
Local residents are dealing with the noise and commotion of the drilling operation, but once the work is complete by the end of this year, the site will hold only a well with an electric pump and will be fenced and concealed by landscaping, DeHaven said. Some wells will require emergency generators, but the PRWC plans to place those away from houses.
On a recent afternoon, both drilling towers were dormant after work had been completed for the day. The structure for the monitoring well rose about 60 feet above the dusty site, while the rig for the production well was slightly shorter. Metal pipes and drill bits suggesting the teeth of ferocious beasts were stacked on the ground nearby.
The PRWC will soon begin working to secure easement rights for the underground pipeline route. The entity has the option of exercising eminent domain power for unwilling property owners, though DeHaven said that will be used only as a last resort.
Cities near water limits
DeHaven, a geologist, was hired as executive director of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative last year, following his retirement from the South Florida Water Management District. The PRWC had previously been led by Ryan Taylor, a deputy county manager for Polk County.
The cooperative arose from the Central Florida Water Initiative, a consortium of three water management districts — including the Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swiftmud), which oversees most of Polk County — intended to promote regional water supplies. Using data from 2020, the districts estimated that the amount of additional water available from the Upper Floridan Aquifer would be exhausted by 2025.
Jay Hoecker, water resource bureau chief for Swiftmud, said the effects of increased pumping are already apparent in Polk County. The district sets minimum flows and levels for water bodies, and some local lakes are not meeting their levels, he said, while some wetlands have lost water.
“As much of the state, Polk County has continued to grow, and the increasing water withdrawals on the Upper Floridan Aquifer will put a strain on the county's lakes and wetlands and natural systems,” Hoecker said. “And for us, recognizing that there are already existing impacts, in order to ensure a long-term, sustainable water supply for the region, we'll have to look to alternative water supplies to meet that projected growth.”
Hoecker said the PRWC considered hundreds of potential alternative water sources before settling on the two planned deep wellfields. The cooperative completed aquifer performance testing in 2019.
The Florida Legislature directed the CFWI to establish rules for the three districts to meet current and future water needs while protecting resources and natural systems. The districts will limit permitted withdrawals from the upper aquifer to 2025 levels, but population growth means that Polk County and cities must find alternative sources to meet the expected demand through 2045.
The PRWC estimates that it will need to produce more than 28 million gallons a day in alternative supplies.
Four local cities — Davenport, Haines City, Lake Alfred and Lake Hamilton — are at or near their limits for water withdrawals and are seeking permit modifications from the water district.
The PRWC has faced challenges in its six-year existence. Some cities have been slow to sign on to the alternative water projects, deterred by the high potential costs. Lindsey said coordination has been a challenge for a coalition of cities of differing sizes with varying needs for new water supplies.
“There was some concern early on that the bigs were trying to roll over the littles — and I would define the bigs as the county and Lakeland and maybe Auburndale and Winter Haven — moving in a direction that would be detrimental to the small cities,” Lindsey said. “And that anxiety was quickly overcome when it was clear that everybody was pulling in the same direction and had the same motivation and collectively we are stronger than we are individually.”
As of now, all of Polk County’s largest cities and towns are members of the PRWC. Each municipality will make incrementally rising payments for participation in the Southeast Wellfield project, which has an estimated total cost of $411 million.
Polk County, for example, is expected to pay annual fees ranging from about $440,000 next year to $2.9 million in 2032, for a total of about $23.9 million. The payments, which will extend for 30 years, include debt service fees.
The costs are estimates and could change based on adjustments to interest rates and other factors, DeHaven said.
The cumulative costs for cities include about $12.4 million for Auburndale, $18.7 million for Davenport, $28.6 million for Haines City and $14.4 million for Winter Haven. The fees depend upon the amount of water each municipality will receive.
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The costs to local municipalities would be much higher if not for financial assistance from Swiftmud and the state and federal governments, DeHaven said. The water district has entered agreements with the PRWC to contribute nearly $111 million for the Southeast Wellfield and about $76 million for the transmission system, Swiftmud's Tarokh said.
That amounts to about 41% of the expected cost and will be reimbursed to participants as the project proceeds.
The PRWC will also draw upon low-interest, 40-year federal loans through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, enacted in 2014. The loans will cover about 49% of the cost, DeHaven said. The cooperative is also receiving about $22 million in low-interest State Revolving Fund loans.
The coalition is counting on about $12 million in state appropriations and another $4.7 million allotted through the Heartland Headwaters Act, legislation sponsored by Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, and Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade.
The hefty cost of the project will inevitably result in rate increases for water customers, though local officials were reluctant to estimate how much they will rise.
While most municipalities are participants in the two wellfield projects, Fort Meade, Mulberry and Lake Wales, as project associates, have not yet committed to receiving water, DeHaven said. The cities could still join later but would face extra costs, he said.
Frostproof has not signed on even as an associate.
Hoecker said that other areas of Florida formed cooperatives decades earlier in response to declining water supplies.
“The one thing that's so unique for the PWRC is the amount of entities that had to come together collaboratively to form this organization and then to jointly develop the supplies,” Hoecker said. “That's a milestone for the region. It's a milestone for us.
I think that will just demonstrate what we're working toward in the future to collaboratively address growing demands.”
'Vital to our future'
Haines City, one of the fastest-growing cities in Central Florida, is facing a critical shortage of water. Public Services Administrator James Keene said the city last negotiated its water permit from Swiftmud in 2011, long before he joined the staff.
The water district allotted a lower volume than the city requested for its 20-year permit, Keene said, based on its estimate of the future population. The population has since surged from about 21,000 to nearly 30,000, and Haines City is already withdrawing slightly more than its allocation of 5.921 million gallons per day.
Keene said Haines City has adopted conservation measures to reduce demand, such as using reclaimed water for irrigation in new developments and requiring that builders use low-capacity fixtures. And the city has forged an agreement with Winter Haven to receive water through a “waterwheel” connection.
Haines City is also negotiating with Swiftmud for a permit modification to carry it until water from the Southeast Wellfield becomes available.
“I've had that conversation with Swiftmud; there's no blame game here,” Keene said. “It's just nobody could have seen that (population growth) coming. So here we are in 2021, at the end of 2021, already exceeding the amount of water that we have. Had we received the amount of water we requested in 2011, we would have still been good for several years. That's not the case. So we are in a situation with water, we’re
needing additional water ahead of time.”
Haines City’s Lake Eva is below its established minimum as water consumption draws down the aquifer.
As he contends with the immediate water challenges, Keene said Haines City will benefit greatly from the additional supply the Southeast Wellfield will provide.
“It’s going to be vital to our future because of the growth, so I think it's a great initiative that we've all come together to look at sustainability,” he said. “Water, as we know, is a precious resource. The Upper Floridan is tapped out, literally and figuratively speaking, with the quantities that we're withdrawing. So if we want to continue growing our county, the Southeast Wellfield and these other alternative water supplies that we're looking at, is going to be how we get there.”
Winter Haven’s situation isn’t as dire. The city averaged withdrawals of about 10.3 millions a day last year, and its permit from Swiftmud allows 14.06 million, said Gary Hubbard, the city’s water director. But Haven Water, like other cities in Polk County, will face shortages in the future.
Winter Haven is negotiating with the water district on a modification of its permit, Hubbard said.
“Basically what we're trying to do is we're trying to create a portfolio of water supply,” he said.
Winter Haven is doing more than most cities to boost its own water sources. The city has announced plans for an ambitious wetlands restoration project called the Sapphire Necklace.
By returning natural water flows to former agriculture lands around the city, Winter Haven hopes to recharge aquifer levels by as much as 3 million gallons a day in the coming years. Hubbard said the city also intends to connect some formerly private agricultural wells to the public supply.
Even with those initiatives, Winter Haven will still rely on water from the Southeast Wellfield to meet its demands for the next 20 years, Hubbard said.
“I think it all really revolves around recognizing the fact that we have a limited resource and know that we're going to have to search for alternative water supplies,” Hubbard said. “In Winter Haven, we've tried to look at all aspects of water as a potential source and then take advantage of that water to the best of our ability.”
Noting the financial contribution from Swiftmud, Hubbard said that Winter Haven would face the entire cost alone if it tried to develop its own alternative water supply. Being part of the PRWC helps reduce the cost, he said.
Winter Haven does not plan to increase rates to offset the cost of the Southeast Wellfield project until 2027 or so, Hubbard said.
Lake Wales has more than 1 million gallons a day of water capacity available and is emphasizing water conservation, city spokesperson Eric Marshall said.
“We are monitoring the project development closely and will consider changing our participation status to project participant when we have more information,” Marshall said by email.
Polk County has about 65,000 water customers and isn’t as close to exceeding its water allotment as some cities, Lindsey said.
Enabling more development?
Local environmental groups have not raised alarms about the well projects, but Tom Palmer, chair of the Sierra Club Ancient Islands Group, did express concern about the cost burden, especially for lower-income residents.
“That's been the one thing we really haven't got a good handle on is – how much is this going to affect people's water bills?” Palmer said. “How much more will I have to pay per month to subsidize new development? So that's the problem we've got with it. It’s just going to be basically all the customers, to some extent, are going to be subsidizing the people who aren't here yet so they can keep building and developing stuff.”
Do the county and its cities have any other options but to see new water sources?
“There's always an alternative,” Palmer said. “The alternative is to just kind of admit that we’ve reached the limit. But that's not something that they're willing to do because they have this plan and they got all kinds of grants.”
DeHaven said he isn’t in a position to set policies on approving the development that spurs the need for increased water supplies.
“That’s a political question,” he said. “I'm just a geologist that works for the cooperative. It’s a good question. And it's something that Polk County needs to face with their elections. You know better than I do, if you don't want the growth then change who's elected.”
Lindsey said Polk County’s leaders are promoting water conservation measures, which can delay the need for alternative sources — but only for so long.
“Well, somebody 20, 30, 40 years ago made a similar investment and paid forward for capacity and treatment and distribution and transmission,” Lindsey said. “So now it's our time to also pay forward for transmission, water supply, distribution, all those elements. So that is a rolling obligation that did not start today. That obligation — whether it's water, sewer, power, telephone, communication, those things — those capital costs and capital investments are made years and decades in advance of the immediate need. And the same holds true in this case.”