Columbia County “in full opposition” to Nestle permit renewal

At the regular meeting of the Columbia commissioners on Oct. 3, 2019, the board passed a strong resolution “in full opposition” of the permit renewal.

The vote was unanimous and with no discussion.  Obviously, someone at the county had done some research and got the facts included.  It is certainly refreshing to hear a government agency accept the water science of reality, in this instance from the Florida Springs Institute, instead of always from the same government agency.

 

Following is the text of the resolution:

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA
RESOLUTION NO. 2019R-53

A  RESOLUTION  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  COUNTY

COMMISSIONERS OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA IN

OPPOSITION OF THE PROPOSED PERMIT RENEWAL TO

THE SEVEN SPRINGS WATER COMPANY THAT WOULD

HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON GINNIE SPRINGS AND

ACROSS THE ENTIRE FLORIDA AQUIFER.

 

WHEREAS, a proposed five-year permit renewal to the Seven Springs Water Company would allocate about 1.152 million gallons of water per day out of Ginnie Springs which would negatively affect the water flow of the North Florida water systems; and

WHEREAS, in 2015, the  Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in association with the Suwannee River Water Management District, implemented a prevention and recovery strategy to comply with the Santa Fe and Ichetucknee minimum flow requirements to help restore the quality of the river; and

WHEREAS, in 2019, The Florida Springs Institute published that, “average flows in these springs and in the entire Santa Fe River are down by 30 percent to 40 percent.”

WHEREAS over five billion gallons of groundwater is being drawn from the Florida aquifer each day, and the continued extraction of water at its current rate will result in negative effects on the Florida aquifer, wildlife, environmental and economic prosperity of the State of Florida.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA:

The Board of County Commissioners of Columbia County is in full opposition of the proposed permit renewal to the Seven Springs Water Company for the extraction of water resources at Ginnie Springs.

PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED at its regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Columbia County, Florida, on this third day of October 2019

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-

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