Of Florida's annual 51 inches of rain, only 13 inches replenishes the Floridan aquifer.
Rendering: St. Johns River Water Management District

In a 6-2 vote, the St. Johns River Water Management District Board has granted permission to Niagara Bottling to double its pumping from the Floridan aquifer to nearly a million gallons a day.

Florida is divided into five water management districts. The St. Johns River Water Management District manages groundwater and surface water in all or part of 18 counties in northeast and east–central Florida. The Floridan aquifer is the largest aquifer in the southeastern U.S., extending beneath all of Florida and portions of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and then into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. According to the water district, more than 90 percent of people in northeast and east-central Florida use the groundwater from the aquifer as their water supply.

The Orlando Sentinel reports residents expressed outrage that a private California company could double its water withdrawals from the aquifer, while central Floridians are under mandatory lawn-watering restrictions.

As part of the agreement, the water district is requiring Niagara to dig a deeper well that reaches into the lower section of the Floridan aquifer, which according to computer analyses will lessen potential harm to wetlands and lakes. The district notes that, in general, water from deeper aquifers is less susceptible to contamination. However, the district website states: "Saltwater intrusion occurs when wells are drilled too deep or when too much freshwater is pumped from the aquifer, allowing salt water to replace freshwater." In fact, salt water is present everywhere in the aquifer deep below the freshwater, according to the water district.

Florida's 51 inches of annual rain of helps replenish the aquifer, however, only 13 inches of that rainfall makes its way to the aquifer. The district says 38 inches evaporates or runs off the land into surface waters before it has a chance to infiltrate.

Interesting water district fact: Some water in the Floridan aquifer may be 26,000 years old.