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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAs the county\u2019s water becomes increasingly scarce, the focus is on ensuring a sustainable alternative water supply for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not expected to have the current water supply past 2026. So, we must get this facility online as quickly as possible,\u201d said Michelle Williamson, Chair of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Upper Floridian Aquifer, the traditional source of water, has reached its limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Upper Floridian Aquifer is very connected to our lakes, our wetlands and our surface water like the Peace River. Additional pumping from that aquifer system is going to cause a drawdown in those systems. We’ll lose our lakes, we\u2019ll lose our wetlands,\u201d said Eric DeHaven, Polk Regional Water Cooperative executive director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Southeast Wellfield and Water Production Facility in Lake Wales will soon supply alternative water to 11 different Polk County municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wells will pump water from 8,000 feet below the ground into the Lower Floridian Aquifer. It will be treated using reverse osmosis to deliver up to 12.5 million gallons of drinking water per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProcessed and treated to become a pure, safe, fantastic tasting drinking water,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Julie Johnson sells a variety of exotic plants at her Lakeland shop, The Green House, and she teaches people how to care for them. She would love to see more yards that have plants that require less water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can find plants that are drought-tolerant and don’t need as much water or as much care. They would survive very well in the Florida landscape,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson is aware that the population boom in Polk County has left the county\u2019s water supplies strained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBetween here and Orlando, it feels like there is a new housing development going in every week, and I do worry about how that impacts the rest of us,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The water treatment facility is expected to open in 2028, ensuring a sustainable water supply through 2045.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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