Town of Dundee Water Use Permit Modification

The Town of Dundee has a population of approximately 3,000 persons and a utility service area of approximately 20 square miles located in east Polk County. In order to meet the rapid expansion of residential growth in Central Florida and their service area in particular, the Town of Dundee sought to modify their existing Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) water use permit (WUP).

We serve as the Town Engineer for the Town of Dundee (Town) and recently successfully modified the Town’s WUP. Our WUP services as Town Engineer included:

Computerized mapping and delineation of existing permitted withdrawals (public supply, irrigation, etc.) and associated service areas;
Identification of potential existing withdrawals that may be utilized as offsets to increased pumping from Town wells;
Assessment of potential offsets based on existing permitted quantity and AGMOD (SWFWMD software used to determine the amount of irrigation required for a given irrigation area and crop) projected irrigation requirements;
Compilation of a water conservation plan identifying options to meet water conservation goals and objectives;
Projection of future water demand based on U.S. Census data and Town supplied information regarding future development;
Assessment of the influence of historic pumping on local lake levels through a study that compared SWFWMD rainfall, lake level, and aquifer level data;
Environmental impact analysis via groundwater modeling utilizing MODFLOW groundwater modeling software and SWFWMD’s District Wide Regulation Model (DWRM); and
Creation of an environmental management plan (EMP) approved by SWFWMD environmental staff to detect any potential adverse impacts.

Envisors submitted the Town’s WUP modification in June 2006, and the Town’s modified permit was approved in August 2007. The Town received an approximate 80% increase to their WUP, from approximately 1 MGD AAD to 1.8 MGD AAD.