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Executive Summary L Executive Summary "Water farming" is a phrase coined by the Indian River Citrus League (IRCL), whereby agricultural entities provide environmental services as a value-added commodity in addition to traditional agricultural products, such as citrus. The Assessment of Water Farming on Agricultural Lands, also known as the Water Farming Assessment (WFA), was a collaborative effort led by the IRCL. With funding from the South Florida Water Management District's (SFWMD) Dispersed Water Management Program, the IRCL selected two local and successful citrus producers to participate in the study. The IRCL selected AECOM Technical Services, Inc. through a Request for Proposals and executed a contract for the study in June of 2011. In an effort to study the feasibility of water farming across a broader spectrum, the Dispersed Water Management Program is also in the process of funding a similar study with landowners through the Gulf Citrus Growers Association, on the west coast of Florida, but under a separate agreement. In general, the purpose of this assessment is to gather site information, develop conceptual plans, and evaluate the costs and benefits of enhanced water management activities on fallow citrus groves. The study activities or components were organized into three tasks including Task 1— Site Reconnaissance and Data Collection, Task 2 — Development of Water Management Alternatives, and Task 3 — Analysis of Costs and Benefits. Progress reports were completed for each task and reviewed by the WFA team. This report has been prepared to compile the findings of the Assessment of Water Farming on Agricultural Lands. 3 aidir a 3S The concept of water farming evolved as an innovative approach to assist with achieving the water resource restoration goals of the State of Florida. As state officials have been working to efficiently fund the array of state and federal projects, citrus growers have been struck with widespread disease causing the acreage of fallow citrus land to increase throughout the IRCL region. The focus of water farming is to identify methods to take advantage of the existing acreage of fallow citrus land in the study area to reduce excess freshwater discharges which are potentially harmful to the estuary while conserving freshwater that would otherwise have been lost to tide. Figure 1- Regional Map Assessment of Water Farming on Agricultural Lands AXON' 18