Water First North Florida Causes SRWMD Reps to Hightail Out of NCFRPC Meeting
March 3, 2026 11:45 pm | 5 min read
AI Summary
Merrillee with toilet and straw.
Columbia County Observer photo and
graphic.
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – With Water First North Florida on everyone’s mind, Amy Brown, PhD, Deputy Director of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD or WMD), reported to the Planning Council on regional drought conditions in the Suwannee River Water Basin.
Dr.
Brown’s report was inclusive and substantive. However,
the lack of a working microphone, a continuing issue at
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council (NCFRPC)
meetings, and the bollixing up of the WMD slide deck by
the Planning Council staff, which made the most
important slides unreadable, distracted from Dr. Brown’s
presentation.
Water First North Florida: Where the meeting energy was focused
The lack of professionalism by the Planning Council staff did not divert the meeting’s energy, the bulk of which was centered on the growing opposition to the Water First North Florida initiative — a plan to pump 40 million gallons a day of treated wastewater from the St. Johns River Water Management District Jacksonville area (via JEA, Jacksonville's utility) into the Suwannee River Basin. Proponents of the plan claim this is necessary and the most cost-effective way to recharge the western side of the Floridan Aquifer and restore flows to the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe springs systems.
Critics argue it's a cost-saving measure for urban areas that risks polluting rural North Central Florida's water with chemicals, forever chemicals (PFAS), nitrates, and other contaminants, exacerbating existing pollution and health issues.
Commissioner Rick Davis (Madison County) led the opposition from the Council. Commissioner Davis is the Chairman of the Withlacoochee River Task Force. The Task Force was established on September 27, 2018, to address raw sewage spills from Valdosta that are floating into the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers.
Commissioner
Davis announced that the Madison County Board of County
Commissioners is formally sending a letter of opposition
to the Suwannee River Water Management District.
He urged other counties and the Planning Council itself to take similar stances.
NCFRPC Chairman Fletcher Hope noted the Council’s executive committee would take up the matter (the repurposing of the Task Force to include the treated wastewater coming from Jacksonville) at its next meeting.
Commissioner Davis led the opposition, citing personal research and community concerns. He highlighted alternatives, such as desalination in source areas.
Commissioner Davis:
“I would challenge you to drink a cup of it. I don't believe that it's safe for our community.”
"I think there are other alternatives other than pumping wastewater from another region to our region… I think that is poor judgment and poor decision-making."
The Public: It was not happy
Folks came from Alachua, Columbia, Hamilton, and Clay Counties to voice their opposition.
Regarding public health and water quality, there was skepticism that treated wastewater removes contaminants (PFAS/“forever chemicals,” nitrates, salinity, chromium, bromides).
Speakers voiced concerns about environmental risk, e.g., potential harm to already impaired springs/rivers, and the precedent of unsuccessful reuse/injection projects.
Speakers complained about equity and governance, pointing out that rural communities bearing the risks from urban wastewater is unfair and that there needs to be local oversight and accountability.
Merrillee, a long-time water quality activist recognized
the size of the problem.
Merrillee (business owner, Santa Fe River) criticized the plan as dumping waste from Jacksonville ("the biggest city in the southeast") into a rural, impoverished area. She expressed fear that pollutants and chemicals from city wastewater would contaminate the local springs and tap water used for her tourism business.
"The biggest city in the southeast, and they want to dump it on us, the most rural, impoverished area that can't even handle what we have right now." —Merrilee, Riparian Owner and Business Owner
Christy Carter knows the health risks of water
mismanagement.
Christy Carter (Resident, Clay Hill/Maxville) shared anecdotal evidence of environmental degradation in local waterways (North Fork Black Creek) due to industrial runoff and mining waste. She linked local health issues, including cancer, to water quality and warned against further contamination.
"My family's lived on the same land since... 1850s... There's no life in the Cypress ponds... It's not just the community and the land that's been decimated. It's also our health." — Christy Carter, Clay Hill Resident
Wayne Seltidas had big problems with JEA.
Wayne Seltidas (Retired Deputy Sheriff/Environmental Investigator) drew parallels to failed wastewater injection projects in South Florida. He argued that JEA (Jacksonville Electric Authority) should manage its own water rather than exporting it. He questioned JEA's integrity, citing recent legal issues.
"If you go into our country today... when it comes to taking our family, what's the first thing we do? We take care of water. This area has taken care of its own water. We've done it for years." —Wayne Seltidas, Retired Environmental Crimes Investigator
Christopher Sweeny advocated for desalination.
Christopher Sweeny framed the issue as a "macro problem" requiring federal investment rather than shuffling water between districts. He highlighted the risks of saltwater intrusion and chemical contaminants (nitrates, chromium) in the aquifer. He advocated for desalination and halting the practice of "stealing" water between districts.
"We need to stop giving away our water without protecting it, and we need to keep the Florida aquifer the cleanest water in the world, and not let it become second to anything else." — Christopher Sweeny, Resident
Juliane Moore wants a moratorium of bottling permits.
Julianne Moore commended the Columbia County Commission for its opposition to Water First North Florida. She called for a moratorium on water bottling permits and urged that infrastructure must precede development. She emphasized that polluting the aquifer affects the entire state, not just the local basin.
"We can't just keep on going, throwing our water and our wastewater willy nilly all over and just outside out of mind." —Julianne Moore, Resident
Epilogue: not a good look
The
SRWMD staff and its board (unelected, with the ability
to tax and set policy) are under pressure from people in
its 7,640 sq mi area not to support Water First North
Florida, a plan to pump 40 million gallons a day of
Jacksonville’s wastewater into the Suwannee River Basin.
The WMD solution at the Planning Council meeting was to tell people to attend a workshop and meet secretly with WMD staff if they wanted.
Then the District’s Deputy Executive Director and the Public Information Officer, before they could hear the public, hightailed it out of the meeting like Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
It wasn’t a good look.