WRA's Environmental Manager Presents at Stetson University (Deland, FL)

The newly established Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University (Deland, FL) asked WRA’s Environmental Manager and Stetson alumni Matthew Miller, to present to students and faculty a project that would best encompass the vision for the Institute. The presentation he chose, “Wetland Recovery and Management in a Shallow, Freshwater Wellfield in Southwest Florida" detailed the Englewood Water District’s (EWD) public supply utility wellfield management plan that Mr. Miller worked on while at SWFWMD. SWFWMD staff had identified impacts to wellfield wetlands and they worked with EWD and their consultants to develop a wellfield management plan that established an allowable drawdown during the dry season (when demands are high due to an influx of winter residents) and wetland recovery during the wet season.  After 4 years of implementation, the wetlands are trending towards recovery.   Mr. Miller believes this project serves as a great example of a regulatory agency and utility working together to manage human interaction with the environment. Furthermore, he hopes it inspires students to be able to come up with solutions to environmental issues that require investigating such a balance. Congratulations Matthew on a successful presentation!