Forty-three projects will share in approximately $21.3 million from the St. Johns River Water Management District for construction of water supply and water conservation, water quality improvement, flood protection and natural systems restoration projects.  Of the 57 projects, 3 received funding in Duval County. 

JEA Hidden Hills Golf & Country Club 
This project brings 1,600 feet of reclaimed water pipe to serve Hidden Hills Golf & County Club that will result in providing approximately 0.36 MGD reclaimed water and a reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous from entering nearby waterways.
Total Cost $791k; District Share $261k

Baldwin - Brandy Branch Power Station
The project eliminates a water discharge into Deep Creek and constructs an effluent wet-well, transfer pumping system from the Town of Baldwin to the JEA Brandy Branch site. There, the reclaimed water will discharge at the JEA Cooling Station. This reuse eliminates nearly 0.25 MGD of groundwater withdrawal.
Total Cost $2,695k; District Share $889k
 
JEA Gate Pkwy - Shiloh Mill Blvd to Town Ctr Pkwy
The project installs 2,400 feet of reclaimed water pipe to serve planned developments. The project will result in providing 0.033 MGD of reclaimed water and a reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous to local waterways. 
Total Cost $367k; District Share $121k

Fifty-seven applications totaling $31.2 million in requested district funding were ranked and scored based on core mission benefits, cost effectiveness, likelihood of successful and timely completion, and application quality and completeness. See the full list.

WHEREAS, water is a basic and essential need of every living creature; and
WHEREAS, clean and sustainable water resources are vital to Florida’s environment, economy and quality of life; and
WHEREAS, more than 90 percent of Florida’s drinking water is supplied by underlying aquifers, and our quality of life and the economy depend upon a reliable, clean and available supply of water and a healthy environment; and
WHEREAS, the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District is working with the state of Florida, local governments and water supply utilities to increase awareness about the importance of water conservation and to increase efforts to conserve water;
WHEREAS, all water users including residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional, hospitality, private citizens and others can make positive contributions to reduce water use and protect Florida’s water resources;
WHEREAS, the Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida are designating April as Florida’s Water Conservation Month to encourage Floridians to conserve the state’s precious water resources;
WHEREAS, the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District encourages and supports water conservation; 
 
NOW, THEREFORE, the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District hereby proclaims the month of April 2017 as Water Conservation Month.
 
The Duval Soil and Water Conservation District is calling upon each resident, visitor and business to help protect our precious resource by practicing water conservation measures and becoming more aware of the need to conserve water.   See the signed resolution, dated April 17, 2017. 

Above: Duval Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors, Hunter Anderson, Dan Evans Jr., Shannon Blankinship, Moderator Ed Wright, and Allen Moore with the Association of Florida Conservation Districts Area II Speech Contestants, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners.  Below Left: Shannon Blankinship and Sydney Allen.  Below Right: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place contestants representing Suwannee County Conservation District, Levy Soil & Water Conservation District and Duval Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Florida statewide competition will be held in Ocala, Florida at the Association of Florida Conservation Districts annual meeting on July 20-22 at the Hilton.  Click here for more details. 

.Supervisors with the Duval Soil and Water Conservation District are excited to serve as hosts of the 2018 Regional (Area II) Speech and Poster Contest! The Association of Florida Conservation Districts hosts 4 regional contests each year with winning district contestants. This year's topic is Healthy Soils are Full of Life. The winner of each of the four regional contests will go on to the Florida Statewide competition in June. 

The Duval County "Area II" Speech and Poster Contest will be held at Riverside North on April 18 from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Participating speech contestants should review the rules and submit their speech by the April 14 deadline. Participants in both the speech and poster contest should complete the registration. For poster contestants, your poster should be delivered to the event no later than 4:00 p.m. when the judging will commence, either personally or from your local District Supervisor.  See the local guidelines and Judges Scorecard for categories K-12. 

Winners for both contests will be announced at 5:00 p.m.  on April 18. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Parents should feel free to register to join us so that we may have a head count, but this is not required. 

Congrats to all of the contestants! 

At our November meeting, two important Resolutions were made by Supervisors. The decision to support the Jacksonville City Council's Resolution Expressing Concern Over Changes to Florida's Surface Water Quality Standards was unanimously voted on by the District. 

WHEREAS, the federal Clean Water Act requires that states periodically review standards for water quality publicly and adopt changes, as appropriate, and Florida’s current Human Health-Based Water Quality Criteria were last updated in 1992; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued new scientific recommendations in 2015 based on national water quality and demographic trends; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) is required to apply the EPA’s guidelines while also accounting for Florida’s specific water chemistry and population through human health-based criteria; and 
WHEREAS, FDEP has proposed human health criteria for 39 new compounds and has revised criteria for 43 currently regulated compounds. Of the 82 proposed new criteria, numerous chemicals have higher limits resulting from the proposed FDEP methodology compared to the recommended EPA methodology; and
WHEREAS, on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, the Commission voted 3-2 to support changes that increase the amount of numerous toxic chemicals in Florida’s waterways; and there are currently two empty seats on the Commission, one representing local government and the other for representatives of the environmental community, resulting in key stakeholder groups from being adequately represented on important statewide regulatory decisions; and
WHEREAS, while FDEP has held 13 public meetings since 2012 on this matter, only three public meetings were held after 2013 and none of the meetings were held in Duval County; and
WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville makes recommendations through the formal resolution process; now therefore
              
BE IT RESOLVED
The DUVAL SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT is concerned over the proposed changes to the State Human Health-Based Water Quality Criteria and Requests further review of the Criteria by the EPA.  We urge the Environmental Protection Agency to provide appropriate public comment period for the proposed standards Health-Based Water Quality Criteria and to thoroughly evaluate the methods used to determine the proposed Human Health-Based Water Quality Criteria to ensure the utmost protection for Florida’s citizens, environment and economy.