HomeMy WebLinkAbout15.d FYI Update SJRWMD and SRWMD Governing Board Comments CLAY COUNTY UTILITY AUTHORITY
raw MEMORANDUM
1-tY AUTNO*`
TO: Board of Supervisors
Agio
FROM: Jeremy D. Johnston, MBA,PE, Executive Directol;
DATE: November 14, 2025
RE: Remarks to the Suwannee River and St. Johns River Water Management Districts
I attended the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) Governing Board meeting on
Tuesday, November 12, 2025. At the same time, Darrell Damrow, PE, Chief Engineer, attended the St.
Johns River Water Management District(SJRWMD)meeting.Both Governing Boards considered the items
listed below,related to the Lower Santa-Fe and Rivers Ichetucknee River and Springs(LSFIRS)Minimum
Flows and Levels (MFL) regulation. The SRWMD and SJRWMD staff presented the Water First North
Florida project as the key center piece of the recovery strategy for the LSFIRS MFL.
• 2025 Implementation Strategy
• Addendum to the 2014 Recovery Strategy for the LSFIRS MFL
• Addendum to the 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan(NFRWSP)
Darrell and I offered comments at the respective Governing Board meetings supporting the Implementation
Strategy,the amended LSFIRS MFL Recovery Strategy,and the amended NFRWSP.We are providing our
comments to the Board of Supervisors for your awareness related to regulatory issues affecting CCUA.
Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions or comments.
"Good morning/afternoon, Madam Chair/Chairman and Governing Board members.
My name is Jeremy Johnston / Darrell Damrow and I serve as Executive Director/ Chief Engineer at the
Clay County Utility Authority.
On behalf of our Board of Supervisors and the entire CCUA team,thank you for the opportunity to speak
to you today.
I'll begin by acknowledging all the work involved in developing the 2025 Implementation Strategy and the
addendum to the 2014 Recovery Strategy for the Lower Sante Fe and Ichetucknee Rivers and Priority
Springs MFL, as well as the addendum to the 2023 North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan. We greatly
appreciate the effort undertaken to develop and update these documents to include the key to the MFL
recovery strategy,the Water First North Florida project.
CCUA consistently seeks long-term value for our customers. We began investing in reclaimed water
infrastructure in the 1990's. Five (5) of our seven (7) Water Reclamation Facilities use Advanced
Wastewater Treatment systems.We were also an early adopter of processing to Class AA biosolids.CCUA
recently constructed Project Quench,a potable reclaimed water demonstration facility,for testing,training,
and education. We have a forward-looking focus on solutions that provide long-term value.
In recognizing the need for regional solutions,we proactively collaborated with other entities, included the
FDEP,the Water Management Districts, GRU,JEA, and SJCUD,to identify regional projects that provide
the environmental benefit necessary to recover the MFL. We also aimed to present the most effective and
cost-efficient way for all water users to address their proportionate share of their impacts. The initial work,
by some of the best professionals in the State of Florida, identified over 800 various project options. The
rigorous analysis completed to date shows the Water First North Florida project as the best, most
comprehensive approach to sustainably addressing the MFL.
Over the past two (2)years, the CCUA team has been very engaged with the development of Water First
North Florida project.We see this effort as central to not only addressing environmental resource restraints,
but also sustainably supporting the region's growing population and industries. Today, we offer CCUA's
support of the 2025 Implementation Strategy and addenda under consideration here today centered on the
Water First North Florida project.
Thank you for your consideration."
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