Jackson Blue Spring BMP Cost-Share

The Northwest Florida Water Management District has cost-share funding available as part available for projects to improve water quality and reduce water use demands in and around Jackson Blue Spring.

Eligible projects will provide increased efficiency in both irrigation and fertilizer use in Jackson County — the largest agricultural area in northwest Florida.

The District is currently offering more than $1 million as part of the second cycle of funding for eligible agricultural best management practices (BMPs) as part of the Jackson Blue Spring Agricultural Best Management Practice Program. By providing enhancements to irrigation systems, the program will assist producers in the basin achieve water savings up to an estimated 3.75 million gallons per day.

In addition, improved fertilizer application technologies could reduce the total nitrogen use for corn, cotton, and peanut crops by 20 percent without a loss in productivity.

Under the Jackson Blue Spring Agricultural BMP Program, the District will fund 75 percent of qualifying BMPs (up to a maximum grant amount of $56,250). For example, to obtain a $75,000 upgrade, an agricultural producer would only be required to provide a match of 25 percent ($18,750), with the District funding the remaining 75 percent. Eligible BMPs include irrigation system improvements, pump upgrades (high to low pressure), remote controlling systems for irrigation, control panel upgrades, endgun controls, fertigation systems, and other precision agriculture tools and services.

Requirements for eligible projects include:

The project site must be located within the Jackson Blue Spring/Merritt’s Mill Pond Groundwater Contribution Area;
The project site must be in regulatory compliance;
The producer must enroll in an applicable Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services-adopted BMP program.