Water Demands in the Jackson Blue Spring Basin

1. Water Demands in the Jackson Blue Spring Basin http://www.nwfwmd.state.fl.us

2. Jackson Blue Spring Basin

3. General Regulatory and Water Use Permit Requirements • Withdrawal exceeds 1.44 mgd • Withdrawal is obtained from a well 10 inches or larger in diameter • Surface water withdrawal exceeds 100,000 gallons/day • Public Supply use or bottled water use • Show use is reasonable and beneficial • Provide a determination of the potential impact of the withdrawal on any existing legal users and on the water resources of the area Requires Applicants To: • Includes A Reservation Of Water By The Governing Board. . . http://www.nwfwmd.state.fl.us/permits/rules/ch40a2.pdf

4. Chipola River Water Reservation (Ch. 40A-2.223) The Governing Board finds that: • “… consumptive withdrawals of surface water from the main stem of the Chipola River and the Chipola Cutoff are not in the public interest…” • … the “magnitude, duration and frequency of observed flows are reserved for the protection of fish and wildlife of the Chipola River, Apalachicola River, the associated floodplains and Apalachicola Bay. (Ch. 40A-2.223 F.A.C.)” Note: Diversions of surface water for cooling purposes, fish and wildlife propagation or refuge, migratory bird hunting refuges and similar diversions are exempt. . . provided that diverted water is returned to the Apalachicola River Basin.

5. Water Supply Assessments .) • Water Supply Assessment (1998) • Demand Projections Update 2005-2025 (2003) • 2008 Water Supply Assessment Update http://www.nwfwmd.state.fl.us/rmd/wsa/WSA%20Updates/wsa_update_2008.htm

6. 2005 Ground Water Pumpage Jackson Blue Spring Basin Total 2005 Annual Average Pumpage was approximately 5.0 million gallons per day

7. Irrigation Wells in the Jackson Blue Spring Basin

8. Irrigated Acreage Jackson Blue Spring Basin • Predominant crops are corn, peanuts, and cotton • Total irrigated acreage: • 16,022 acres associated with Individual Water Use Permits • 1,720 acres associated with smaller wells • Irrigated acreage totals 27.7 mi2 or approximately 20% of the total basin area

9. Reported Monthly Agricultural Pumpage (Million gallons per day) Permitted Annual Average Daily Rate = 12.3 MGD

10. Yearly Variation in Agricultural Pumpage Jackson Blue Spring Basin * Based on total irrigated acreage of 17,742 acres. The ground water pumpage permitted by the NWFWMD in Jackson Blue Spring basin totals approximately 12.3 mgd.

11. Historical Rainfall (inches)

12. Jackson Blue Spring Discharge Low Rainfall Period

15. Weir Elevation = 75.64

16. Agricultural Water Use Permits Expiration Dates

17. Ongoing and Future Activities • Monitoring and technical analyses are continuing to quantify basin hydrology: • Jackson Blue spring discharge • Mill Pond stage • Ground water pumpage • Rainfall • Consider applying the USGS ground water flow model to understand pumping lag and how climate affects spring discharge. • Jackson Blue Spring is on the Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL) Priority List per Florida Statutes. • Consider limiting future consumptive demands or reserve sufficient amounts of water to allow for spring discharge during extreme drought as an alternative to MFLs • Continue to develop effective water conservation measures for agriculture that will allow for the economic and beneficial use of water in the springshed