The Ranch encompasses several major watersheds in the region, which receives more than 50 inches of rainfall annually. As a steward of these vital resources, Deseret is committed to protecting long term the water supplies that sustain our ecosystems, grow our agriculture, and provide safe drinking water to our communities.

Deseret’s operations have been a model for responsible and sustainable management of valuable water resources for over half a century.

• Committed to protecting water supply
• Recipient of Environmental Leadership Award for Water Quality
• Encourages use of surface water rather than groundwater
• Created retention ponds to improve water quality

To protect St. Johns River water quality, Deseret has 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.

Deseret’s leadership has for decades encouraged increased reliance on surface water and has repeatedly expressed concerns about overuse of ground water by surrounding communities. When possible Deseret uses surface water for our own agricultural needs, rather than drawing heavily on fragile aquifers. Over twenty years ago Deseret management began converting Deseret irrigation systems from reliance on well water to utilizing surface water, thus helping to protect valuable groundwater resources. We continually monitor the groundwater aquifer underlying the Ranch in an effort to prevent over pumping by local municipalities and the associated salt water intrusion.