As storm water runoff began to threaten the St. Johns River we acted early and aggressively to protect the river. We have carefully managed surface water by creating processes for agricultural storm water runoff to reduce nutrient loading. To protect St. Johns River water quality, the Ranch voluntarily created retention ponds to improve nutrient quality of storm water before it leaves the property.

Based on the success of prior efforts we are continuing this effort with another facility in the planning stage. Our design of one of these reservoirs, the 500 acre Jug Island Reservoir Water Treatment System, was awarded the Commissioner of Agriculture’s Environmental Leadership Award for Water Quality. Water discharged from these reservoirs is of high quality, exceeding the quality of the receiving waters of the St. Johns River.