Plant City’s Integrated Water Management Plan Lynn Spivey, Amy Tracy, Chris Keller, Chris Owen, and David O’Connor Florida is growing at a record pace, with an estimated 1,000 new residents arriving every day. In Plant City (city), population forecasts indicate an increase of approximately 74,000 people through the year 2045. Presently, the city utility serves 40,210 residents; with the projected population increase, the city estimates, in 2045, about 35 percent more potable water supply customers. New legislation, rule revisions, and regulatory changes regarding water supply and quality are underway because the city’s aquifers, lakes, and springs cannot keep up with the need for fresh water. The supply of fresh water is limited, and the ways in which the city uses its recycled water will facilitate a more resilient water supply future.
Water Projects With “One Water” Philosophy The city, in collaboration with its funding partners, is investing in a series of water projects that follow an integrated approach to water resource management. Part of the city’s plan to
sustain and protect water and the environment is through the implementation of the McIntosh Preserve Integrated Water Management Plan to provide for future water supply needs and protect a section of wild and scenic beauty in the city. The projects are predicated on the “One Water” approach to managing the water cycle. The projects incorporate the use of a natural green space just north of the city center. McIntosh Preserve is a 365-acre natural habitat located in the city (Figure 1). The McIntosh tract was purchased in 1998 for $1.1 million by the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) and the Hillsborough County Environmental Land Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP). In 2015, the city opened the habitat facility as a passive recreational park, with amenities that include walking and hiking trails, and picnic facilities. The city continues to invest in the preserve to protect local water resources and expand recreational access to realize multiple environmental benefits through the concept and implementation of integrated water management principles. “One Water” is defined by The Water Research Foundation as “an integrated planning and implementation approach to managing finite water resources for long-term resilience and reliability meeting both community and
Figure 1. McIntosh Preserve Boundary
8 May 2021 • Florida Water Resources Journal
ecosystem needs.” The U.S. Water Alliance recognizes that all water has value and should never be treated as a waste product. The integrated water management plan projects include utilizing the city’s highly treated reclaimed water for wetland rehydration and surficial aquifer recharge and as an alternative water supply (AWS) through an indirect potable reuse (IPR) project. The plan also includes the mitigation of flooding through increased stormwater capacity at the McIntosh Preserve parcel, in part through the expansion of natural and engineered wetlands that also provide additional water quality treatment to stormwater and reclaimed water, and expanding the natural passive park amenities and preservation of critical habitat at McIntosh Preserve.
Projects to Implement the Plan The water projects in this integrated water management plan are multi-year projects cofunded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). The water projects encompass two elements. The first is the evaluation of IPR as a possible future 1.5-million-gallon-per-day (mgd) water supply opportunity through the utilization of highly treated recycled water for aquifer recharge. Additional benefits of aquifer augmentation are prevention of the degradation of wetlands and formation of sinkholes in the Dover Water Resource Cautionary Area. The second water project element of the integrated water management plan includes the design and construction of 172 acres of multipurpose constructed treatment wetlands on the McIntosh parcel, where reclaimed water will be used as beneficial reuse to support wildlife habitat through proper maintenance of the hydroperiod, while reducing the surface direct discharge to the East Canal. Both elements of these water projects use the highly treated reclaimed water from the Plant City Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), a 10-mgd adjusted average daily flow (AADF) advanced wastewater treatment plant (AWT). Currently, the city’s WRF National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit allows for a surface water discharge (SWD) of up to 6 mgd on an annual average into the East Canal, which flows to the Itchepackasassa Creek, and eventually, the Hillsborough River. The SWD permit requires reclaimed water to be Continued on page 10
