Water management district proposes lower minimum levels for Lake Aurora

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is proposing to lower the minimum water levels for Lake Aurora, a 120-acre lake in Polk County near Lake Wales.

District staff will present the proposed changes at a public meeting Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. at the Lake Aurora Christian Camp & Retreat Center, 237 Golden Bough Road, Lake Wales. The district is also accepting online comments through Dec. 4, according to the district's project page.

The district, which manages water resources across 16 counties including Pasco and Hillsborough, last set Lake Aurora's minimum levels in 2018. Scientists and engineers analyzed updated water-level and environmental data to determine whether revised levels are needed to protect the lake.

What would change

Both proposed thresholds are lower than the current ones.

The Minimum Lake Level (MLL), the elevation the lake must equal or exceed half the time over the long term, would drop from 97.3 feet to 95.8 feet, a decrease of 1.5 feet.

The High Minimum Lake Level (HMLL), which the lake must equal or exceed 10% of the time, would fall from 100.3 feet to 97.9 feet, a decrease of 2.4 feet.

Both are measured using the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29) reference system.

The proposed changes would lower the regulatory thresholds used to evaluate whether water withdrawals could cause significant harm to the lake. They would not directly lower the lake's actual water level or authorize a particular water withdrawal.

The district said the proposed levels differ from the current ones because staff used updated information, a new model of the lake's water budget and updated scientific criteria that account for the lake's environmental characteristics and natural water-level fluctuations.

The draft report's assessment indicates Lake Aurora meets both proposed minimum levels and is projected to continue meeting them over the next 20 years, according to the district.

Why it matters beyond Polk County

The Florida Legislature directs the district to establish minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for priority water bodies within its boundaries. MFLs are intended to protect water resources from significant harm caused by groundwater and surface water withdrawals.

Once adopted into district rules, MFLs are used in water supply planning and water use permitting, and can inform environmental resource permitting decisions.

Although the district's jurisdiction includes Pasco and Hillsborough counties, the proposed changes apply specifically to Lake Aurora in Polk County. They would not directly change the minimum levels established for unrelated lakes elsewhere in the district.

Lake Aurora is a closed-basin lake with no surface-water outlet or major tributaries. Its water levels depend on rainfall, evaporation, groundwater interactions and watershed runoff.

How to weigh in

The online public comment period opened Nov. 1 and closes Dec. 4. Residents can review the proposed changes and submit comments through the district's Lake Aurora project page.

Comments submitted to the district are subject to Florida's public records laws. All comments will be reviewed by district staff and shared with the Governing Board.

Jordan D. Miller, an environmental scientist with the district, is the contact for the project. Miller can be reached at [email protected] or (352) 269-5935.

District staff are scheduled to present their recommendation to initiate rulemaking to the Governing Board on Dec. 15, with the rulemaking process anticipated to begin Jan. 1, 2027.

The proposed levels have not yet been adopted. Any changes must complete the district's rulemaking process before taking effect.