The City of Daytona Beach recently completed the Bennett Swamp Rehydration and Conservation Project located near 3917 LPGA Blvd. in Daytona Beach. The project redirects and disperses up to six million gallons of reclaimed water per day into several locations within Bennett Swamp, a 1,423 acre parcel jointly owned by the St. Johns River Water Management District and the State of Florida’s Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
The rehydration project included the installation of pipes from the Westside Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which is on the east side of LPGA, across LPGA Boulevard and into Bennett Swamp, which is on the west side of LPGA. The project, which redirects up to six million gallons of reclaimed water per day has multiple benefits including:
- Reestablishing hydrologically stressed wetlands
- Recharging the aquifer
- Reducing pollutant loads diverting flow from the Halifax River into Bennett Swamp.
- Providing habitat and refuge for wildlife
The $5.3 million project was conceived by the City of Daytona Beach in discussion with the St. Johns River Water Management District. Grant awarded from the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection funded 81% of the project cost.