Alachua County continues to provide leadership and foresight in conservation and planning for the future. We commend the City of Gainesville for the purchase of the land.
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Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
New Gainesville wetlands park slated to open in 2026
Expected to replenish aquifer and offer walking paths to view wildlife
John Henderson
Gainesville Sun USA TODAY NETWORK
July 20, 2022
A planned wetlands park in southwest Gainesville that is expected to replenish the aquifer and offer walking paths for residents to watch wildlife is expected to open in 2026, city officials said.
Gainesville Regional Utilities has already purchased the needed 75 acres off Parker Road, north of Diamond Sports Park, and is well into the planning stages for the groundwater recharge wetlands project.
The near $12-million, 75-acre project is expected to be a miniature version of the popular Sweetwater Wetlands Park off Williston Road, which has proven to reduce pollution.
“It will take a couple of years to actually get it fully operational,” Mayor Lauren Poe said. “People will be able to visit. There will be walking trails. But it also will significantly help with water quality in that part of our city.”
Highly treated wastewater, known as “reclaimed water” that meets drinking water standards from GRU’s Kanapaha Water Reclamation Facility, will be pumped onto the wetlands, hydrating them to help the area blossom.
That facility already supplies water for irrigation to developments in the area, including Haile Plantation and Oakmont.
As part of the planned project, GRU also plans to develop walking and biking paths next to berms that will encircle the wetlands, allowing visitors to get an up-close view of many species that will be drawn to the habitat.
“People love to go to these wetlands to get out in nature, walk the trails, jog the trails,” said Kristen Sealey, the project manager and GRU utility engineer. “They are loved by birders and wildlife folks who take pictures. We’ll incorporate educational signage.”
The wetlands will also filter the reclaimed water as it seeps into the aquifer and ends up in the lower Santa Fe/Ichetucknee River basin to help replenish declining water levels. The project is expected to recharge approximately 3 million gallons of water per day.
Debbie Segal, president of the Alachua Audubon Society, said the organization is excited about the project. The group is currently surveying species on the Parker Road site to compare with what ends up there after the wetlands are created.
“When you have a large water source like that, it does attract a lot of wildlife, especially water-dependent species, water birds, migratory ducks in the winter, and lots of other species as well,” she said.
“It will be a wonderful nature park very much needed on the west side of town.”
The new park will be built out over a 10-year period and with wetland basins totaling between 20 to 45 acres. It will be part of the growing ecotourism attractions in Alachua County in addition to Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Segal added.
“Sweetwater has become well known on the ecotourism scene,” she said….
Prior to the pandemic, officials had originally hoped to open the land to the public after the first phase in 2024 but the city hadn’t purchased the land until January 2021 for $2 million.
In February of this year, GRU selected the designbuild team Wharton-Smith, Inc. to handle the project. Workshops will be held last this year to get input from project partners and neighbors on the design and operation of the park.
“In the long run, the design-build delivery approach usually takes less time than the design-bid-build process,” Sealey said.
