If you received a postcard in the mail, please read how development in Alachua affects your water. If you want to chat, email ouralachuawater@gmail.com
On January 13, 2026, the City of Alachua Planning & Zoning Board will hold a public hearing for Tara April, located near Mill Creek Sink, just east of I-75 and U.S. 441.
Mill Creek Sink is directly connect to the aquifer that supplies drinking water to homes and feeds nearby springs.
Why Development Here Is Risky:
The proposed Tara April Special Exception Permit would allow construction above and around the Mill Creek Sink Cave System.
Development can introduce pollutants such as runoff, fertilizers and pesticides, fuel, and oil contamination. Protecting clean water means preventing pollution before it happens.
How This Connects to Your Water: A dye trace study conducted by scientists confirmed that water entering Mill Creek Sink:
Travels underground through a cave system
Reaches residential drinking water wells one mile away
Emerges at springs up to eight miles away
That means water entering Mill Creek Sink can directly impact your drinking water.
What’s Being Decided on January 13, 2026: The Planning & Zoning Board will review a Special Exception Permit request for the Tara April site. Public input is a critical part of this process. Showing up matters. Decision-makers need to hear directly from residents whose water is at risk.
Are you an “affected party”? The City of Alachua code defines this as “Any person who will suffer an adverse effect to a property interest from the proposed application for development permit, including interests related to health and safety, densities and intensities, traffic congestion, environmental impacts, aesthetic impacts, and similar effects. Any person who has land adjacent to the land subject to the application for development permit is an affected party.”
If you are an affected party, you get more time to speak during the hearing. You can also submit a powerpoint presentation to the planning@cityofalachua.com by Noon EST on Monday, January 12, 2026.
Public Hearing: Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 6:00 PM
Alachua City Hall: 15100 NW 142 Terrace, Alachua, FL
Email your comments: planning@cityofalachua.com
Be sure to mention Mill Creek Sink and the Tara April Special Exception Permit.
Why Your Voice Matters
Clean water is essential to:
Public health
Residential wells
Springs and rivers
Our local environment and quality of life
Decisions made now will shape our water future for generations.
Clean water depends on what we do now.