Frequently Asked Questions

Alternative Water Supply (AWS) is any sustainable water source that does not originate from the upper Floridan Aquifer.

CCUA has two charges that are specific to AWS. One is charged to all potable water customers as a surcharge on each monthly bill. The other is charged only to new developments.

AWS Surcharge: An amount added to every potable water bill to support the development of future Alternative Water Supplies. This surcharge can be applied to, but not limited to, feasibility studies, evaluations, land acquisition, property entitlements, design, permitting, construction, and implementation of AWS.

AWS Connection Charge: An amount added to every new potable water connection to support the development of future Alternative Water Supplies. This surcharge can be applied to, but not limited to, feasibility studies, evaluations, land acquisition, property entitlements, design, permitting, construction, and implementation of AWS.

The objective to instituting a water bill AWS surcharge and adding an AWS Connection Charge to the water connection charges is to establish an initial stable funding source for AWS development, which will include, but is not limited to, feasibility studies, evaluations, land acquisition, property entitlements, design, permitting, construction, and implementation. The development of AWS is to support the existing and future residents Clay County connected to CCUA’s potable and reclaimed water distribution systems with a sustainable water supply other than the Upper Floridan Aquifer.

The State of Florida including Clay County has seen continuous increases in its population for sustained periods of time. The continued growth of the State of Florida and Clay County’s population will have impacts on what is currently the citizens’ sole source of drinking water; the upper Floridan Aquifer. The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Suwanee River Water Management District (SRWMD) are putting a significant amount of time and effort into modeling and analyzing the impacts from water withdrawals from the aquifer. The impacts attributed to withdrawals to meet the demands of the population served by CCUA will have to be addressed and mitigated by the use of AWS. AWS for CCUA is simply any sustainable water source that does not originate from the Upper Floridan Aquifer.

CCUA currently serves the potable water demands of the citizens connected to our utility system by pumping water from the Upper Floridan Aquifer through our water treatment plants and to homes and businesses. We also supplement the reclaimed water distribution system with water pumped from the upper Floridan Aquifer when demand for reclaimed water exceeds the supply produced from Wastewater Treatment Facilities (WWTF).

CCUA currently serves 41,344 active residential accounts (August 2015 billing data). This is 3,449 more customer accounts now than what we served in July 2009 (Conservation Rate Structure Effectiveness Assessment, July 2015, presented to the CCUA Board of Supervisors, August 18, 2015). With an average of 2.82 people per household (US Census Data), this translates to CCUA currently serving an approximate population of 116,000 people or 9,700 more people than 2009.

Conservation has been a focal point for CCUA and our rate payers. The adoption of the tiered rate structure, the availability of water conservation assessments, and 3-day continuous usage monitoring by our staff has helped us reduce direct total pumping by 13.1% (Conservation Rate Structure Effectiveness Assessment, July 2015, presented to the CCUA Board of Supervisors, August 18, 2015) when compared with total pumping in July 2009. While conservation has been effective to date, conservation alone will likely not address long term future water demands with the continuous growth of Clay County’s population.

A report titled “Reclaimed Water Deficit & Augmentation of Reclaimed Water System Project Study on Long Term Water Supply” by Mr. Ray Avery (December 2014) looked at many of these issues. This report focused on the utilization of reclaimed water and the water resources needed to augment that delivery system. The referenced report identifies once potential resource, storm water, to be harvested in order to supplement our reclaimed water distribution system. The utilization of storm water as a water resource will eliminate the need for augmentation wells pumping water from the upper Florida Aquifer to support the irrigation needs our of customers. Harvesting storm water is an example of AWS.

The State of Florida through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the SJRWMD, and the SRWMD have adopted regulations the affect the Clay County Utility Authority’s (CCUA) utilization of the upper Floridan Aquifer as a public water supply in future years. The adopted regulations are called Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL’s). The MFL’s currently adopted by the State of Florida are listed below.

• The Lower Santa Fe River and the Ichetucknee Rivers & Associated Springs (effective date June 10, 2015)
• Lake Brooklyn (effective date January 17, 1996; currently under re-evaluation)
• Lake Geneva (effective date January 17, 1996; currently under re-evaluation)
• Lake Cowpen (effective date November 4, 1998; currently under re-evaluation)

Each of these MFL’s will require CCUA to evaluate and then mitigate the impacts from pumping water from the Floridan aquifer to support the population served by CCUA. Mitigation of the impacts to the Floridan aquifer will be through the implementation of AWS. If CCUA elects not to address aquifer impacts from pumping with our own AWS projects, the SJRWMD will likely require CCUA, through the Consumptive Use Permit (CUP) renewal process, to contribute to projects within the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan. Contributions to SJRWMD projects may or may not serve the utility’s rate payers.

The SJRWMD and SRWMD are currently proceeding with the development of the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan. The last Water Supply Plan was completed in 2005 with a fourth addendum completed in 2009. The water management districts evaluate the potential water supply needs for the next 20 years. If the water management districts determine through the water supply planning process that the natural resources available are not sufficient to meet the future demands, they can identify areas potentially affected by water resource shortfalls as “Priority Water Resource Caution Areas.” Designating an area as a “Priority Water Resource Caution Areas” can have a significant economic impact on the local community. Evaluation and implementation of AWS will aid Clay County and its residents in avoiding regulatory restrictions and designations that may have negative impacts on the local community.

Beyond the MFL and water supply regulations, municipalities and utilities are faced with other regulations which include, but are not limited to, Total Maximum Daily Loads, the Numeric Nutrient Criteria, and the Human Health Criteria to name a few. Opening new water supplies for utilization as AWS may require advanced treatment processes, but utilizing these new water supplies will aid us in addressing many of these other regulations.

The AWS surcharge and the AWS connection charges is estimated to produce funding of approximately $545,811 per year and $163,000 per year respectively (assuming approximately 42,000 water bills and 500 new connections). Over a 20 year period, the AWS surcharge and connections charges will produce approximately $20 million in funding (assuming an interest rate of 3% and 500 new connection per year).

The AWS surcharge and AWS connection charge are intended to fund infrastructure. Because these funding mechanisms are intended to support infrastructure, similar to our existing plant base charges, the AWS surcharge is considered in line with a base charge; not a flow charge. The AWS infrastructure will be interconnected with our existing systems which will benefit all CCUA rate payers. For this reason, it is appropriate to apply the AWS surcharge equally to every water bill.

The AWS surcharge and the AWS connection charges will be funds dedicated only to work associated with the items such as (but not limited to) study, evaluation, land acquisition, property entitlements, design, permitting, construction, and implementation of AWS. These funds will not be used for general operations and maintenance.

The proposed AWS surcharge and connection charges are to establish an initial funding source. The proposed AWS surcharge and connection charges as described will not address all the aspects of study, evaluation, land acquisition, property entitlements, design, permitting, construction, and implementation.

AWS is new to CCUA. We are entering the feasibility phase of which AWS will be the most economical and effective solutions for the citizens and rate payers of Clay County. Our staff has done investigations of various concepts, but these concepts need to be developed further. We are initiating an AWS feasibility study that will help us further define applicable AWS solutions as well as refine their costs. The costs presented in the proceeding paragraphs are conceptual and are subject to change as further analysis helps define the scale and scope of AWS solutions. These costs have been reflected in the 2015/16 Capital Reserve Strategy for planning purposes.

The storm water harvesting project is estimated to cost approximately $27 million. These costs are provided in the report titled “Reclaimed Water Deficit & Augmentation of Reclaimed Water System Project Study on Long Term Water Supply.” We currently have projects underway that will develop the construction methods and operational procedures for the larger storm water harvesting project. The vision for this project is that it will develop along with the construction of the First Coast Outer Beltway.

A surface water reservoir is also a potential AWS solution. Our staff found a draft feasibility analysis for a surface water reservoir that was completed by CDM Smith, Inc., for Indian River County, Florida (December, 2014). This analysis was utilized for understanding of numerous issues associated with surface reservoirs as well as approximate costs for a surface water treatment plant. We prepared a very preliminary analysis for the approximate size of a surface reservoir to support approximately 10% of our average system pumping. Based upon our analysis, our initial opinion on the probable construction cost for a surface water reservoir is approximately $103 million.

Another potential AWS is direct potable reclaimed water. This option would require upgrading our wastewater treatment process so the effluent sent from the waste water treatment plants is to a drinking water standard. This technology is being implemented in other areas of the country. The City of San Diego completed a study in July 2012 called the “Recycled Water Study.” This study analyzed the use of recycled water. While there are challenges with perceptions of the water from these process, it is an option we will evaluate in our feasibility study process. Because of size and application differences between San Diego, California, and Clay County, Florida, we do not have a conceptual opinion of probable construction costs developed at this time. This will be addressed with the AWS feasibility study. It should be noted here that in all likelihood, CCUA would choose either a surface reservoir or a direct potable reuse system, but not both.

The MFL regulations will require CCUA to offset impacts from withdrawals from the Floridan Aquifer when we renew the utility’s Consumptive Use Permits. These regulatory requirements along with such regulations as the Numeric Nutrient Criteria, the Human Health Criteria, and the TMDL’s will require infrastructure and process improvements to mitigate various constituents the jurisdictional agencies determine as detrimental. These infrastructure and process improvements to our wastewater treatment facilities can be directly related to the potential application of direct potable reclaimed water noted in the previous paragraph. Currently, there is $50 million identified in the Capital Reserve Strategy to address the regulations noted in this paragraph.

CCUA will continue to experience growth in the population served by our potable and reclaimed water distribution systems, as well as requirements to mitigate impacts related to the pumping of water from the Floridan Aquifer to serve that population. The development of AWS will help CCUA mitigate impacts related to pumping from the Floridan Aquifer and maintain a stable, economical water supply. Currently $153 million is identified in the Capital Reserve Strategy for extraordinary capital requirements associated with AWS. The monthly AWS surcharge and AWS connection charges initiate a funding source for AWS of approximately $20 million over a 20 year period. The AWS surcharges and connection charges will be refined over time as the feasibility of AWS solutions and AWS projects are more accurately defined.