Here’s what we’re doing in Volusia County

freshwater spring
Blue Springs, one of the many freshwater resources in Volusia County.

The work of the St. Johns River Water Management District is all about water. Our staff work each day on your behalf to protect water. This work is focused on four core missions: water supply, water quality, flood protection and natural systems enhancement and protection.

Volusia County is just one of the 18 counties where we do our work. Following is an overview of some of the ways that your tax dollars benefit not only the residents and visitors to the county, but also its natural and water resources.

Have you seen construction projects in your community or wonder where your water comes from? Chances are, the District issued a permit through its regulatory programs. The Consumptive Use Permitting Program reviews requests for water use and determines the amount of water available to be withdrawn from groundwater or surface water for uses such as public supply utilities, agricultural operations, commercial uses and power generation. Environmental Resource Permits authorize new construction in a way to prevent harm to water resources (such as causing adverse flooding), manage surface water and protect water quality, wetlands and other surface waters.

Water supply planning and our regulatory and water conservation programs are examples of how we apply our water supply core mission each day.

Strategies to protect and restore water quality include a commitment to comprehensive monitoring to guide impairment determinations, manage restoration projects and evaluate effectiveness.

Flood protection comes in many forms, such as water storage in natural wetlands and your neighborhood stormwater pond or flood control structures built in strategic locations.

Natural systems benefit from lands the District has purchased for conservation and restoration. These lands are open for free for your enjoyment. On lands not owned by the District, natural systems benefit from effective permitting, water quality improvement projects, minimum flows and levels and cost-share projects.

The District owns or manages the following public lands in your county:

Prescribed fire helps maintain fire-dependent public lands.

Public lands help protect Florida’s endangered plants and animals.

Minimum flows and levels balance people’s and nature’s needs. There are 32 MFLs in Volusia County protecting the following lakes, wetlands and springs. Additionally, the Volusia Prevention and Recovery Strategy, adopted in 2013, commits funding toward projects to protect and recover MFLs at Blue Springs and six area lakes.

  • Lake Big
  • Blue Spring
  • Lake Butler
  • Lake Colby
  • Coon Pond
  • Cow Pond
  • Daugharty
  • Lake Davis
  • DeLeon Springs
  • Lake Dias
  • Lake Drudy
  • Lake Emporia
  • Gemini Springs
  • Lake Gertie
  • Lake Helen
  • Lake Hires
  • Lake Hokey
  • Indian Lake
  • Lower Lake Louise
  • Lake Monroe
  • Lake North Talmadge
  • Lake Pierson
  • Lake Purdom/Inez
  • Lake Scoggin
  • Lake Shaw
  • Johns River near DeLand
  • Lake Savannah
  • Three Island Lakes
  • Lake Trout
  • Upper Lake Louise
  • Lake Winnemissett
  • Lake Winona

See the MFLs priority systems map.

Learn more about MFLs.

A scrub jay resting
A scrub jay rests at Buck Lake Conservation Area, one of the District-owned lands in Volusia County that benefits natural resources and offers recreation opportunities.

The District constructs large, regional projects that often benefit multiple counties and benefit more than one of the District’s core missions. Some of the projects in your county include:

  • Volusia Prevention and Recovery Strategy (VPRS) — In January 2022, the District joined partners and interested stakeholders in celebrating the groundbreaking of a project that is integral to the success of the VPRS. The VPRS is a comprehensive strategy to protect Blue Spring and six Volusia County lakes from current and potential impacts of groundwater withdrawals, as part of the District’s minimum flows and levels program. The strategy calls for groundwater withdrawals in the region to be maintained at or below sustainable limits, or for impacts from the withdrawals to be offset through reuse of reclaimed water, aquifer recharge and water supply projects, as well as through conservation and regulatory measures to protect water resources. The District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection contributed funding to various phases of the project. This final phase consists of the construction of a surface water pump station on Lake Monroe and a transmission line that will allow the city of Deltona to pump and treat up to 4 million gallons a day of surface water. This water will be used to not only supplement the city’s reclaimed water system, but also allow them to provide any excess to other interconnected reclaimed water systems in the region and to recharge projects that would benefit Blue Spring.
  • Tiger Bay Canal weir — The weir across Tiger Bay Canal enhances recharge to the aquifer system, benefits nearby Indian Lake and decreases stormwater discharges to the Tomoka/Halifax river system. The weir is designed to hold an additional three feet of water in a wetland system that has been stressed by low water levels. Water stored by the weir will rehydrate the 150-acre wetland, enhance recharge to the Upper Floridan aquifer and directly benefit the hydrologically connected Indian Lake. Up to 3 million gallons of water per day (mgd) are projected to recharge the aquifer system and Indian Lake.
Water Reclamation Facility
The Volusia County Water Reclamation Facility.

The District’s cost-share programs help local governments, agricultural entities, disadvantaged communities, and other non-governmental organizations undertake projects to benefit one or more of the District’s core missions and benefit your community. Such projects include upgrades to water treatment facilities, expansion of reclaimed water lines, creating stormwater treatment ponds and parks, etc. Here are examples of this work in your county.

  • Gabordy Canal Water Treatment in Edgewater — The project includes the pumping of stormwater from the Gabordy Canal through a 2-acre treatment facility consisting of a 1-ft layer of sand and a 2-ft layer of bioactivated media for denitrification and phosphorus absorption. The estimated nutrient load reduction water quality benefit is 4,300 lbs/yr TN and 290 lbs/yr TP.
  • Deltona Alexander Avenue Water Reclamation Facility, Lake Monroe, Deltona — This project is integral to the success of the Volusia Prevention and Recovery Strategy. The strategy calls for groundwater withdrawals in the region to be maintained at or below sustainable limits, or for impacts from the withdrawals to be offset through reuse of reclaimed water, aquifer recharge and water supply projects, as well as through conservation and regulatory measures to protect water resources. Both the District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have contributed funding to various phases of the project. This final phase consists of the construction of a surface water pump station on Lake Monroe and a transmission line that will allow the city of Deltona to pump and treat up to 4 million gallons a day of surface water. This water will be used to not only supplement the city’s reclaimed water system, but also allow them to provide any excess to other interconnected reclaimed water systems in the region and to recharge projects that would benefit Blue Spring.
  • Underhill Ferneries Precision Fertilizer This project involves the purchase and implementation of precision fertilizer application equipment benefitting the lower St. Johns River. The estimated nutrient load reduction water quality benefit is 945 lbs/yr TN and 248 lbs/yr TP.
  • Read about our cost-share program.
  • See other projects
groundbreaking ceremony
The District’s Division Director of Water Supply Planning and Assessment Clay Coarsey (middle) and partners participate in a groundbreaking ceremony in January 2022 at Lake Monroe.

The District collects a wealth of data that is used to make science-based decisions in all our work. This includes data on how much rain your county has received, the water levels in area lakes and rivers, the amount of nutrients in natural waterways, planning to address future water supply needs and much more.

The Blue School Grant Program provides funding to teachers within the District in support of their efforts to engage students in understanding and appreciating Florida’s freshwater and estuarine systems.

Blue School Grant Program winners.

  • Burns Science and Technology Charter School
  • David C. Hinson Middle School
  • Galaxy Middle School
  • Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts
  • Silver Sands Middle School

Encourage your child’s teacher to apply for a grant.

Contact us about a speaker for your group. We’d love the opportunity to speak with you about our work. Speaker’s bureau.

Free materials you can read or download at home or school.

Staff in our Governmental Affairs Program provide water resource information, assistance and support to federal, state and local elected officials and their staffs, and collaborate on water resource issues, programs and projects. One of the ways you may have met team members is during the annual Water Conservation Month observance when your local governments approved proclamations recognizing the observance.

District Executive Director receiving a water proclamation
District Governing Board Vice Chair Maryam Ghyabi-White (center) and District Executive Director Mike Register (right) accept a proclamation for Water Conservation Month during a meeting of the Volusia County Council.