Manatee County Government
M.A.R.S. – Manatee Agricultural Reuse System
The MARS system, which was activated in 2006, is a strategy to reduce aquifer withdrawals and increase the drinking water supply by providing alternative water sources for irrigation. The overuse of groundwater in one of the most stressed aquifer recharge areas in the state of Florida, the Southern Water Use Caution Area (SWUCA), has made finding alternative sources of water critical.
Manatee County operates three water reclamation facilities (WRF). All three of the WRFs depend upon irrigation with reclaimed water to use the treated water. Before MARS, each facility operated independently. If one facility had surplus reclaimed water and another facility had excessive demand, the County had no mechanism to move the surplus to the area of need.
To implement MARS, the County has constructed a pipeline connecting the three WRFs, giving the County the ability to redirect surplus reclaimed water along the pipeline to areas where water is needed. The County has received grant funding of over $25 million from the EPA and SWFWMD for construction of the MARS pumping and transmission facilities. The total construction costs amount to approximately $50 million.
Supporting the water needs of our community while maintaining the health and quantities of our fresh water supply is a balance that can be achieved by valuing our reclaimed water as a sustaining alternative water resource that can serve water demands for activities that would otherwise compete for the same resources.
