With millions of gallons of water already saved through the St. Johns River Water Management District's program to plug free-flowing wells, the District is now searching for more wells to plug, particularly in Seminole County. The history of growing vegetables in Seminole County that led farmers to tap deep into the Floridan aquifer for irrigation water leads water managers to believe there are many wells throughout the county that continue to waste millions of gallons of water each year. Because the wells are believed to be on private property, the District is typically only able to learn about them when notified.
Property owners can be eligible to have the wells permanently plugged without cost.
But, before the wells can be capped, they need to be found. The most challenging part is actually locating the wells, since most of them are on private property. There are believed to be more than 2,000 free-flowing wells throughout the District's 19 counties in central and north Florida, with several hundred of those believed to be in Seminole County. Each well may waste as much as 32 million gallons a year. The District has worked with local governments and private property owners since 1976 to cap 1,200 free-flowing wells that were no longer in use, saving more than 336 million gallons of water each day.