The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 27, to share the results of the 2020 Dover/Plant City Water Use Caution Area Assessment and staff recommendations. District staff will give a presentation followed by a chance for the public to give comments and ask questions.
Members of the public may join the workshop via Microsoft Teams athttp://bit.ly/3slyRcf.
The Google Chrome browser is recommended for best compatibility with Microsoft Teams. For telephone-only participation, dial (786) 749-6127 and when prompted enter the conference code ID: 821 756 019#.
The District established the Dover/Plant City Water Use Caution Area and Recovery Strategy to address issues that followed an unprecedented cold weather event in January 2010, when temperatures dropped below 34 degrees for an 11-day period. As a result, more than 750 wells were impacted and 140 sinkholes formed in the area causing approximately $8 million in damages. The District imposed restrictions for new Upper Floridan Aquifer groundwater withdrawals used for crop protection, new standards for well construction, and incentive programs to encourage growers to use best management practices for cold protection.
The 2020 Dover/Plant City assessment was a comprehensive analysis that evaluated a variety of factors such as long-term trends associated with groundwater levels, agriculture production, weather trends and the frequency of frost/freeze events. The assessment determined the chance of the 2010 11-day event reoccurring was once in 570 years and indicates that the Recovery Strategy is no longer needed. The recommendation will be presented to the District’s Governing Board this summer.
For more information about the Dover/Plant City Water Use Caution Area, please visit WaterMatters.org/DoverPlantCity.