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Comprehensive Plan Conservation Element - Floridan Aquifer Overall, the Floridan aquifer is naturally higher in concentration of chlorides than the surficial aquifer. For that reason, water supplied from the Floridan aquifer must be treated by reverse osmosis. Compared to treatment of water from the surficial aquifer, treatment costs are considerably higher for water supplied by the Floridan aquifer. Due to the higher yield of the Floridan aquifer and the fact that it is less susceptible to contamination, however, this aquifer has been chosen as the source of water for the County's existing and proposed water treatment plants. Generally, the groundwater aquifer recharge areas for the Floridan aquifer are located in the Osceola Plain west of Blue Cypress Lake. In this portion of the county, future land uses will remain limited to pastoral open space and livestock grazing. As such, land uses in Indian River County will not pose a threat to the water quality of the Floridan aquifer. This area, however, is not considered a "prime recharge area" by the SJRWMD, and its contribution to the replenishment of the Floridan aquifer is relatively minor when compared to aquifer recharge areas in neighboring counties. Therefore, the SJRWMD must coordinate with the counties west and northwest of Indian River County to ensure preservation of this important groundwater resource. The County's policy should be to maintain a low density agricultural land use designation in the Floridan aquifer recharge area. The Sebastian Freshwater Lens is a confined pocket of potable water within the Floridan aquifer. The confining layers of the Sebastian Freshwater Lens prevent recharge of the aquifer as well as intrusion of water containing high chloride concentrations. As such, this non -replenishable source of groundwater should be carefully "mined" only for domestic consumption with continual monitoring. The SJRWMD is the lead agency that regulates and monitors consumptive water use in the Sebastian Freshwater Lens. With respect to County policy, the Sebastian Freshwater Lens is in an area designated on the County's future land use map as low-density residential. In the future, the County should maintain that low density land use pattern to deter an increase in water consumption. Water Conservation While the NGAR Sub -Element provides a detailed description and analysis of groundwater conditions and use in Indian River County, the Potable Water Sub -Element provides information on present and projected future demand for potable water in the county. From 1996 to 2007, per capita water consumption in Indian River County increased from 70 gallons per day to 143 gallons per day. During the same time period, agricultural water consumption dropped approximately 11 million gallons per day, or 18%. That is significant because agricultural water usage is the single largest consumption category by volume in the county. Over the last ten years, the decrease in agricultural water usage has outpaced the increase in per capita daily water consumption. Due to the drop in agricultural water usage, total daily water consumption has decreased by nearly 10% in the last ten years. Community Development Department Indian River County 99