Sweetwater Wetlands Park is a nutrient reduction and environmental restoration located south of Gainesville, FL on the rim of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. The project receives stormwater runoff, industrial discharges and wastewater effluent from a 2,100-acre watershed that is 80% urbanized. The project removes nutrients, trash and sediment to produce a high quality water that is used to restore the natural flow pattern to wetlands within the state park.

Stormwater runoff, industrial discharges, effluent from the Main Street Water Reclamation Facility (MSWRF), and discharges from septic systems in the watershed flow into Sweetwater Branch, an urban stream that was historically channelized. Prior to the project, nutrients, sediment and trash flowed directly to Paynes Prairie, then through a canal to the Floridan Aquifer at Alachua Sink, which is an impaired water body located within Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.

The Project includes the following: upgrade MSWRF for phosphorus removal, stabilize Sweetwater Branch, capture sediment and trash, creation of a 125-acre treatment wetland,Construction of a 1.25-mile long sheetflow distribution channel, and backfill over 1 mile of existing canal.

Long-term water quality monitoring demonstrates Project performance with the following criteria: • Rolling 5-year average of Total Nitrogen (TN) in the discharge from the proposed system is equal to or less than 3 milligrams per liter (mg/L); and • Rolling 5-year average of Total Phosphorus (TP) in the discharge of the proposed system is equal to or less than 0.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L).

This presentation summarizes performance monitoring data collected during the first seven full calendar years of operation (January 2016 – December 2022).