What does Mosaic do to conserve water?

Groundwater withdrawal limits are designed to allow Mosaic’s facilities to operate and continue to produce the fertilizer needed by farmers. In 2012, we worked with water management regulators to design an Integrated Water Use Permit (IWUP), which will reduce Mosaic’s daily permitted groundwater usage by an additional 30 percent over the next 20 years. The IWUP, which included a comprehensive review of Mosaic’s water management practices, was the result of nearly five years of negotiation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).

Mosaic previously held seven separate water use permits to run its phosphate mining and fertilizer manufacturing operations in central Florida. By using an “integrated” approach to combine these permits, Mosaic voluntarily reduced its daily permitted groundwater usage by nearly 30 million gallons per day (MGD), a dramatic reduction of 30 percent. Today, our groundwater use constitutes approximately 2 percent of total groundwater use in the SWFWMD.

Mosaic has developed a plan to reduce freshwater usage by 20 percent per tonne of product by 2025. We’ve identified alternate water supplies like reclaimed water to help us reach our goal. As an example, Mosaic currently uses 5 million gallons per day (MGD) of reclaimed water in our operations in lieu of groundwater.