In addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars the Polk Regional Water Cooperative is spending to plumb the depths of the Floridan aquifer, it is poised to spend $225,000 to further explore tapping the Peace River.
Wednesday the PRWC’s board voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with Mosaic to investigate the feasibility of someday using one of its clay-settling areas as a reservoir.
The reservoir, which was first proposed last year, would be located on mined land south of Fort Meade and east of the Peace River.
PRWC Executive Director Eric DeHaven said the study, which will not begin until the next fiscal year. will look at the feasibility of building a pipeline along a Mosaic railroad spur between a section of the river near the Hardee County line and a treatment plant and ultimately the reservoir.
He said there is no estimate of what the cost will be for the construction of the facilities and the use of Mosaic’s property.
How much water will be available will depend on an updated study of how much water can be withdrawn from the river during high-flow periods that is being conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
PRWC officials are monitoring the study.
Meanwhile, a settlement has been proposed in the dispute involving PRWC, Tampa Bay Water and Swiftmud over how much water the cooperative could potentially withdraw from the Alafia River. Any withdrawals would not occur for several years if they occur at all.
The river’s headwaters lie in Polk County in two streams that merge to form the river proper in eastern Hillsborough County.
The settlement agreement is scheduled for discussion at next week’s Swiftmud Governing Board meeting in Tampa.