A farm family near Kanapaha Prairie says the county must pay about $30,000 now and $5,000 a month to retain excess water on its already inundated property to relieve flooding that is threatening several homes.

The deal was reached after about 10 days of discussions between the Ramsey family, their attorney and Alachua County Public Works Director Ed Culpepper.

The county commission will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. today to consider the proposal.

But it's unknown what effect redirecting the water will have on Kanapaha Prairie and its nearby residents, Culpepper said.

"I only know that (the water) will go down some," he said. "I can't say how much or when."

St. Johns River Water Management District officials will be designing models to determine the likely effects, Culpepper said, though that information likely will not be available by today's meeting.

The agreement allows the county to restrict the flow of water that would normally drain from the Ramsey's farm to Kanapaha Prairie, in effect using the farm to store the water.

In exchange, the county will have to pay $30,000 up front and $5,000 a month during the deal's four-month term.

The county can renew for another four months by paying an additional $25,000 up front and continuing to pay $5,000 a month.

In addition, the county would have to pay about $2,000 round-trip to move the Ramseys' cattle between the farm and land owned by the water management district, where the cows will graze; $1,000 to move hay and about $500 for liability insurance on the district land.

About two weeks ago, residents came to the commission asking for relief from the rising flood water, which has reached 12 feet at some spots. One family in the Thousand Oaks subdivision had already been forced out of their house and others feared that the continually rising water could threaten more homes.

Fearing the possible liability, county commissioners put off taking action and asked for more information.

At a meeting 10 days ago, water management officials predicted the water on the prairie would rise another 2 feet by June 1, flooding 15 more homes if nothing was done.

But the water level has now stabilized, Culpepper said, and the most recent projections show it shouldn't rise any more.

An emergency order issued by the water management district allows the county - with the landowners' approval - to either redirect water to the Ramsey farm or break a levee between Levy Lake, which also drains into the prairie, and pasture land owned by Dan Whitehurst.

At the time, commissioners rejected a motion by Commissioner Penny Wheat to break the levee, which a prospective buyer of the Whitehurst property said he would allow for 30 days as long as the county rebuilt it.

That left officials waiting for the Ramsey's OK to retain water onto their property.