About

The WRWSA is created by Interlocal Agreement among its member counties. Originally created in 1977, the Interlocal Agreement was revised in January 2014.

The Charles A. Black Water Supply Facility (CABWSF) is the first wellfield and water supply facility developed by the Authority. It was constructed with financial assistance from SWFWMD’s Withlacoochee and Coastal Rivers basin boards. The development of this facility was the first step toward implementation of the Authority’s Regional Water Supply Plan and in making the Authority self-sufficient.

The CAB water supply system consists of seven groundwater production wells and two water treatment facilities, CAB-1 and CAB-2. CAB-1 consists of two groundwater supply wells, disinfection equipment, storage tanks, and distribution piping equipment. CAB-2 consists of five groundwater supply wells, disinfection equipment, storage tanks, and distribution piping equipment. Both facilities are regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The most recent Water Management District permit allows for a total combined permitted withdrawal rate of 7.1819 million gallons per day. The following figure shows the general location of the CAB facilities:

• Crystal River
• Inverness

• Brooksville

• Belleview

• Bushnell

Since its inception, the Authority has moved forward with water supply planning studies; construction of its first regional water supply facility in Citrus County and; developed a cooperative funding program to provide grants to assist member local governments in developing adequate water supply facilities and water supply conservation projects.

Current activities include:

• joint funding of water supply projects with member local governments;
• tracking and providing input to water resource legislation that is of interest to the Withlacoochee Region;
• to expand and refine the "Regional Framework" concept that will provide the future infrastructure for introduction of alternative water supplies into the Region’s water supply systems;
• continued cooperation with Citrus County in operation of the Authority’s Charles A. Black Wellfield and Water Supply Facility (CABWSF).
• cooperative funding with SWFWMD and SJRWMD for regional irrigation audit programs to implement outdoor water conservation;
• updating of the Regional Water Supply Plan every 5 years.

View the WRWSA 2023-24 Work Program

The Authority’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) is comprised of utility and planning professionals from member governments within the region as well as from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). The TAC is currently assisting with the Regional Water Supply Plan update.

Suzannah J. Folsom, Executive Director
Mrs. Suzannah J. Folsom, PE, PMP, serves as the Authority’s Executive Director. Mrs. Folsom started with the Authority in December 2019. She has 20 years of experience, working previously as a Senior Professional Engineer at Tampa Bay Water, a regional water supply authority for the three counties south of WRWSA, and as a small business owner and consultant. As Executive Director for the Authority, Mrs. Folsom is responsible for all operations and management of consultant contracts, budgeting and financial matters of the Authority. Mrs. Folsom holds a Masters of Engineering in Water Resource Management and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida.

Robert W. Batsel, Jr., Attorney
Rob Batsel is a partner with the firm of Gooding & Batsel, PLLC, located in Ocala, Florida. He has served as General Counsel to the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority since August 2019. He focuses his practice in the areas of state and local government, land use and development, commercial real estate, higher education, and business law, including issues such as entity formation, employment, contracting, insurance, and purchase and sale transactions. In addition to his representation of the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, he currently serves as Assistant City Attorney to the City of Ocala and General Counsel for the College of Central Florida, in addition to his representation of private individuals, businesses and developers.

LuAnne Stout, Administrative Assistant
LuAnne Stout contracted with the Authority as Administrative Assistant in July 2015. She has 36 years of experience in executive and budget administrative positions for water management in the state of Florida. As the Administrative Assistant for the Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, she assists the Authority in day-to-day operations and serves as the project manager for the Authority’s irrigation system evaluation programs.