A rendering of the proposed wastewater discharge project in Wakulla County.
Wakulla County leaders will hear input from residents Tuesday on a plan to filter treated wastewater through a local aquifer. The proposal has raised concerns from local environmentalists.
The county plans to turn a 106-acre piece of recently-purchased property into a park and wetlands site, where treated wastewater would also flow into a nearby aquifer.
Opponents of the plan worry elevated levels of nitrogen in the treated wastewater could harm natural habitats. Jack Rudloe, who founded the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, calls the proposed project short-sighted.
“It’s going to be a colossal fight to keep our wonderful county from screwing up the springs and the bay because it’s going to go out into spring creek out into the Gulf of Mexico and come right back on top of our beleaguered oysters and the rest of our seafood.”