West Polk Lower Floridan Aquifer (WPLFA) and Wellfield Water Production Facility Project
This important project involves comprehensive planning, engineering, and construction to build an alternative potable water supply facility that will deliver high-quality, great-tasting drinking water to the Polk County region. Once complete, it will supply up to 2.5 million gallons of drinking water each day (MGD). The water will then be transported through a new underground transmission pipeline to your local water utility, providing safe, clean drinking water to communities throughout Polk County. The facility will be expanded in the future to produce up to 10.0 MGD.
How it Works
The new West Polk Wellfield and Water Production Facility will draw brackish water from a deep underground source in West Polk County, the Lower Floridan Aquifer. The water will then be treated and purified using reverse osmosis, a process that pushes slightly salty water through specialized filters. These filters allow clean water to pass while blocking substances such as salt, minerals, and heavy metals. This technology is already widely used in Florida to convert brackish water into fresh, safe drinking water.
Project Highlights
- Drilling and testing wells to see how much water they can produce
- Checking the quality of the water and how much is available
- Running small pilot tests to make sure the treatment process is effective
- Building wells and pipelines to bring water from underground
- Constructing and commissioning a treatment facility to clean the water
- Installing injection wells to safely return leftover water underground
- Building transmission lines to deliver clean water to local water utilities
Project Progress
Construction of the production and injection wells is currently underway for the West Polk Wellfield and Water Production Facility. The project consists of two main parts: a new water treatment facility and a new pipeline to deliver the water to local utilities. Design for the pipeline and facility will be completed in 2026. The West Polk Water Production Facility is expected to start delivering clean drinking water in 2032.
After project completion, the West Polk Water Production Facility will produce up to 2.5 million gallons of clean water daily.
