Winter Haven advances southern expansion of aquifer recharge wetlands scheme
Winter Haven Utilities Department, Florida · Meeting date: October 26, 2026 · Published: October 27, 2026
Winter Haven’s commission approved southern-lobe due diligence for its East Winter Haven Aquifer Recharge and Wetland Restoration project as design progresses on the approximately 450-acre first “Sapphire Necklace” project. The city plans to use wetlands, controlled water structures and a permitted recharge well to support future water supply resilience.
Key points
- The commission approved consent-agenda item 10.H, covering due-diligence services for the project’s southern lobe, including a boundary survey and Phase I environmental work.
- The current 60% design covers an approximately 450-acre wetland-restoration project linked to a managed aquifer recharge well that has been drilled and permitted.
- The city said it has secured roughly $13 million-$14 million in grants for the project, while continuing voluntary acquisitions of adjacent land.
- The system is intended to take water from the Peace Creek Drainage Canal, improve water quality through the wetland system and recharge the aquifer, while providing flood storage.
Full report
Winter Haven has taken another step toward expanding its East Winter Haven Aquifer Recharge and Wetland Restoration project, approving preliminary due-diligence work for a southern lobe as the city reviews a 60% design for the wider scheme.
The commission approved the southern-lobe services as part of its consent agenda on 26 October. City staff said the work includes a boundary survey and Phase I environmental assessment for land east of the proposed south wetland system.
The project, also referred to internally as “Sapphire One”, is the first of 19 projects in Winter Haven’s Sapphire Necklace programme. Water Department Director Gary Hubbard said the original Bradco Farms property was acquired in December 2023. The city initially bought about 370 acres and has since enlarged the scope to an approximately 450-acre wetland-restoration project with an aquifer recharge well.
The recharge well has been permitted and drilled, with testing due to begin in the autumn. The project principal described the scheme as a means of collecting stormwater, municipal reuse water and other sources, cleaning that water and returning it to the aquifer.
Under the current design, water from the Peace Creek Drainage Canal would enter a northern wetland system and move through a deep emergent-marsh slough toward the managed aquifer recharge well. The extended contact with wetland vegetation is intended to improve water quality. The project is also intended to provide stormwater and floodwater storage, restore wetland hydrology and reduce nutrient loads flowing downstream to Peace Creek, the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor.
The city is designing remotely operated smart weirs to control water levels. Staff said the structures would allow the city to raise water levels in the nature park, lower the level ahead of a storm to release water, and then raise it again to store incoming floodwater. Water would ultimately return to the Peace Creek Drainage Canal.
The southern wetland system would route water from the west into the northern system through a land bridge. It would incorporate two existing forested wetlands, while the wider site plan includes roughly six miles of trails, kayak access, parking and educational features. Following feedback from neighbouring landowners, the design team added edge reforestation for visual screening and shifted trails toward the centre of the site.
Hubbard said the city is pursuing acquisitions only where landowners are willing to sell and where parcels have hydrologic value; he said no eminent domain is involved. Two acquisitions, known as the King and Muncie properties northeast of the original site, were expected to come before the commission for closing before year-end. Some northern land is under contract but has not yet closed.
The city has received approximately $13 million-$14 million in grants for the project, according to staff. Final design and construction are planned to follow agency engagement and permit applications. The project team said it hopes to move into construction by around this time next year, with construction estimated at about two years and plant establishment continuing beyond that.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Commission Meeting - Oct 26, 2026, Winter Haven Utilities Department