Pat Northey For Volusia County Council

Water Conservation: My commitment to you, the taxpayer, is to work for strong conservation programs, to continue responsible land acquisition in the Conservation Corridor for water resource and to advance an alternative water supply plan that will promote sustainability in our County. It does not include dipping our pail into the St. Johns River to withdraw water.

This is a complicated issue with many different players, and there are no easy answers. The St. Johns River Water Management District ((SJRWMD) is the state regulatory agency responsible for managing ground water and surface water supplies in 18 counties, including Volusia.) established a minimum flow regime (MFR) for Blue Spring, the largest warm water manatee refuge on the east coast. DeLand, Orange City and Deltona, along with Volusia County, are within the influence of Blue Spring. According to the SJRWMD, the cities and the county will cumulatively need to find alternative water supplies -- other than groundwater -- in the range of 30 million gallons per day.

We are looking for alternatives other than surface water to offset the deficits created by the Blue Spring Minimum flows to include

aquifer recharge, reservoirs, and well fields outside the Blue Spring watershed, expanded reclaimed systems, and stricter conservation. Parcels outside the influence of the spring that will provide alternatives to groundwater withdrawals are being considered for acquisition.

As your County Council Member, I have pushed for water conservation through programs such as irrigation audits for high water users, rain barrel rebates, free rain sensors, low-