Citrus County clashes with regional water authority over supply planning, eyes well field takeover

Citrus County clashes with regional water authority over supply planning, eyes well field takeoverFrustrated by a perceived lack of long-term strategy and financing, Citrus County commissioners refused to adopt a mandated water supply report and are exploring legislative avenues to reclaim ownership of a key well field.

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners declined to acknowledge the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority's 2024 report, demanding concrete 20- to 40-year supply and financing plans.

Commissioners criticized the authority for raising wholesale water rates despite the county bearing the maintenance and personnel costs for the Charles A. Black Well Field.

The board directed staff to consult with state legislators about potentially dissolving the regional authority or transferring ownership of the well field back to the county.

At a July 28 meeting, the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners escalated a long-simmering dispute with the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority (WRWSA), refusing to acknowledge the agency's 2024 water supply report and exploring options to reclaim a critical well field. Second Vice Chair Jeff Kinnard pulled the mandated seven-year update from the consent agenda, criticizing it for lacking concrete 20- to 40-year supply and financing plans. Kinnard noted that while consultants frequently float expensive supply options like desalination or large surface reservoirs along the Withlacoochee and Rainbow rivers, the report offered no viable funding mechanisms. "Shelving it for seven years and saying, 'Oh well, we'll talk about it seven years from now,' doesn't seem to be much of a plan," Kinnard said. The core of the county's grievance centers on the Charles A. Black Well Field. According to Kinnard, the well field is the only water supply facility owned by the four-county authority, yet Citrus County is responsible for its maintenance, parts, and repair personnel. Kinnard criticized the WRWSA for recently raising the county's wholesale water rates based on a contractual cost-of-living allowance, despite the authority incurring no additional expenses to operate the facility. Kinnard recounted that in 2015 or 2016, a contract change required the county to pay in perpetuity for every gallon of water drawn from the facility, which the county had already partially funded. A previous county effort to buy back the remaining balance on the facility for approximately $1.2 million to $1.3 million was narrowly defeated by the WRWSA board. During the meeting, public commenters echoed the board's frustrations, dismissing the two-year-old report as a "history book" with zero substance and urging the county to protect the Floridan aquifer from over-extraction. Ultimately, the board allowed a motion to accept the report to die without a second. Instead, commissioners agreed to consult with Water Resources Director Ken Cheek and state legislators to explore alternative governance structures. Potential options discussed include dissolving the WRWSA entirely—which would revert the well field to county ownership—or drafting a legislative mandate to force the transfer of the asset back to Citrus County control.