North Well Field Expansion & Raw Water Pipeline Project: A Case History at Gainesville Regional Utilities

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), located in Alachua County, Florida, experienced severe drought conditions dating back to 1999. The year 2000 was the driest on record for Florida. Coupled with 1999, the last 2 years have been the most arid on record since the 1930s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. During the Past two years, GRU's service area has experienced a cumulative rainfall deficit in the vicinity of 40 inches. Record customer water demands during May and June 2000 placed a heavy burden on GRU's existing water supply and distribution infrastructure. This situation eventually required for the first time ever in GRU's service area the implementation of emergency water use restrictions for 158,000 customers.