The Lake County Commission voted unanimously to oppose efforts by the St. Johns River Water Management District and Central Florida area utilities to tap the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers for new public water supplies to support growth.

The resolution, approved Tuesday February 24th, also rejected the County’s possible participation in a 500 mile long pipeline system which would stretch through Central Florida like a spider web, linking most major public utilities to the taps on the river system.    The pipeline network, called the “Central Florida Regional Water Transmission System” was the brainchild of utility directors and some city commissioners in the cities of Mt. Dora, Leesburg, and Deland. Behind the scenes, sophisticated maps of the pipeline proposal and suggested points of withdrawal on the rivers had been put on paper by larger utility directors in Orlando and Orange County working with the Water Management District.

The resolution, proposed by County Commissioner Elaine Renick at the request of Audubon of Florida and Audubon chapters, reads in part:

“Lake County finds that costly efforts to increase available public water supplies by withdrawing from the St. Johns River system or Ocklawaha River system will have the deleterious effect of perpetuating the ongoing wasteful use of water from all sources, and thus contravene necessary change in behaviors and practices required to ensure environmental sustainability and economic health.

Lake County urges the SJRWMD and local governments, including its municipalities, to fully exercise their respective authorities to implement aggressive water conservation programs and regulatory measures, coupled with necessary enforcement and responsible growth management, in order to maximize conservation as an effective “alternative water supply.”