Polk County and Six of Its Cities Win $12.6 Million in State Water Grants as Florida Awards $100 Million Statewide

Central Florida's long search for new drinking-water supplies got a state-funded push this week. Polk County and six of its municipalities will receive a combined $12.6 million in state grants to support their pursuit of alternative water supplies, The Ledger reported. Statewide, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the awarding of $100 million across 45 projects to restore and protect Florida's water resources, through the Springs Restoration and Alternative Water Supply grant programs — money intended to protect and restore Florida's springs while expanding alternative water sources and promoting water conservation. The state awarded $50 million of it for 22 projects aimed at reducing Florida's reliance on traditional freshwater sources.

In Polk County, the largest municipal award goes to the town of Dundee, at $4.765 million. Polk County itself, Haines City and Winter Haven were each awarded $2 million. The other recipients are Auburndale, at $750,000; Eagle Lake, at $600,000; and Bartow, at $500,000.

All of the Polk awards are intended to cover the costs of connecting to pipelines being installed by the Polk Regional Water Cooperative. The cooperative started construction in 2023 on its Southeast Wellfield, a project that involves drilling wells into the Lower Floridan Aquifer to provide new supplies of drinking water. The state funds will help cover the costs of building holding tanks and other infrastructure needed to receive water from the pipelines, cooperative Executive Director Eric DeHaven said. For a fast-growing Central Florida region — Orlando's neighboring counties included — alternative supply is the hedge against drawing the traditional aquifer sources down further.