TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state was awarding more than $112 million in grants to improve the water quality and supply across Florida's Gulf Coast and throughout Central Florida.
The governor announced the grants on Dec. 3 in a press conference at the Hula Bay Club in Tampa.
DeSantis said $50 million will be in the form of grants for alternative water supply projects for waterways, which include the St. John’s River, the Suwanee River, the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts, Polk Regional Water Cooperative, Toho Water Authority, the city of Cape Coral, and the city of Live Oak.
The governor said another $50 million will go to projects aimed at protecting Florida’s natural freshwater springs.
"It’s going to reduce nitrogen, just in those grants, by 100,000 pounds per year in those springs," said DeSantis.
Another $12 million will go to Florida's universities and counties to drive innovative technology to fight algae blooms, per the governor. The funds will go to the University of South Florida, the University of Florida, the University of Miami, Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University, as well as Polk and Seminole counties.
The governor also said the state has already put about $300 million toward developing alternative water sources, which he claims provides over 440 million gallons of additional water supply per day.
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