Taylor Creek / LOPP - Blog #8

 

Project Description:

 

The project includes two Stormwater Treatment Areas: Nubbin Slough and Taylor Creek, and one isolated wetland/retention pond sites: Byrd Stockyard.

 

Public Lands – Stormwater Treatment Areas 

 

Construction of a 780-acre Stormwater Treatment Area for Nubbin Slough is complete on the former New Palm/Newcomer Dairy. The purpose of this Stormwater Treatment Area is to divert and treat the majority of runoff from Nubbin Slough. This would be accomplished by delivering water from the slough to the east end of the Stormwater Treatment Area. The water would then flow through the treatment wetland and discharge back to the slough.   The Nubbin Slough STA is not currently operational.  .

Taylor Creek / LOPP - Blog #7

Project Purpose:

 

The purpose of this project is to store water runoff and reduce phosphorus on various parcels in the project’s basins. Two approaches are used: construction of Stormwater Treatment Areas on publicly held lands and restoration of isolated wetlands or construction of retention ponds on private lands.  In addition to providing immediate water management and water quality benefits, these Stormwater Treatment Areas will also provide critical information in the design of the larger reservoirs and Stormwater Treatment Areas that are being planned for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Project.

Taylor Creek / LOPP - Blog #6

The Corps is responsible for the design and construction of the Stormwater Treatment Areas.  The South Florida Water Management District is responsible for operations and maintenance of the facilities and will conduct monitoring to measure the performance and phosphorus reduction at these sites.  The Project Cooperation Agreement anticipated costs for this project to reach $16.4 million dollars in year 2000. These costs will be split 50/50 by the SFWMD and the Department of the Army. 

Taylor Creek / LOPP - Blog #5

The Lake Okeechobee Critical Projects were implemented through a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the South Florida Water Management District. The implementation process involves the following phases: planning, engineering and design, construction, operations and maintenance, and monitoring and assessment of project performance.

5 Health Dangers Under Your Sink

Sloan Barnett wrote a new post 5 Health Dangers Under Your Sink

photo
Sloan Barnett   October 18, 2011 at 8:23am

Just 50 years ago, most chemicals found under our sinks existed only in chemistry labs. Today, we consider them essential to modern life. We're in the habit of grabbing the same "pine fresh"...

To comment on this post, follow the link below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sloan-barnett/toxic-house-cleaning-products_b_1013152.html

 

Taylor Creek / LOPP - Blog #4

In addition to programs designed to diminish the amount of phosphorus runoff into Lake Okeechobee and the amount of exotic plants that are in the lake, LOPP includes a Lake Okeechobee Construction Program, which comprises the Lake Okeechobee Water Retention/Phosphorus Removal Project, a Critical Restoration Project authorized in the federal Water Resources Development Act of 1996. This Critical Project includes the restoration of isolated wetlands and construction of large retention areas, or Stormwater Treatment Areas, which improve the water quality of runoff draining from areas up to several hundred square miles in size. The Lake Okeechobee Construction Program also includes a Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Project – the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Project - which is designed to improve water quality to Lake Okeechobee and downstream receiving waters.

Taylor Creek - Blog #3

The 2000 Florida Legislature established the Lake Okeechobee Protection Program (LOPP), which is designed to address the issues of water quality, hydrology and exotic plant management. An integrated watershed and lake management strategy is being used to improve the condition of Lake Okeechobee. This strategy uses land management practices to reduce phosphorus levels in streams draining land parcels of several hundred acres or less, regional phosphorus control technologies that impact areas ranging in size from several hundred acres to several hundred square miles and in-lake remediation projects. 

Another Taylor Creek Pic!

Taylor Creek - Blog #2

Another beautiful Pic of Taylor Creek!  That dragonfly loves to have his picture taken!

 

And here's a little background:

 

Lake Okeechobee functions as the central part of a large interconnected aquatic ecosystem beginning with the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and ending at Florida Bay south of the Everglades. It also is the major surface water body of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. The lake provides a number of values to society and nature including water supply for agriculture, urban areas and the environment, flood protection, a multi-million dollar sport and commercial fishery, and habitat for wading birds, migratory waterfowl, and the federally endangered Everglades Snail Kite. These values of the lake have been threatened in recent decades by excessive phosphorus loading, harmful high and low water levels, and rapid expansion of exotic plants. 

Tour of Taylor Creek and Lakeside Ranch STAs - A Blog Series...

Last week I took a tour of the Taylor Creek and Lakeside Ranch STAs.  Fascinating projects!  They are both excellent examples of STAs!  Overall, it was a very enlightening, rewarding and positive experience! 

 

This week, most of my blogs will be dedicated to the Taylor Creek and Lakeside Ranch STAs, utilizing pictures from the trip, commentary and background info.  This beautiful picture is of Taylor Creek!

Water Management District unanimously approves Everglades projects

  • Print page

Everglades National Park (Pic by Rodney Cammauf, National Park Service; via army.mil)

The governing board of the South Florida Water Management District yesterday voted unanimously to move forward with eight public/private partnership projects to store water in the Northern Everglades.

The projects, which are known as dispersed water management, involve enlisting private landowners in solutions to help restore the Everglades and its tributaries. The district describes (.pdf) it simply as “shallow water distributed across parcel landscapes using relatively simple structures.”

Several state conservation groups have been vocal advocates of the projects, which they say could provide benefits to both water storage and water quality. Audubon of Florida proposed asimilar project (.pdf) in 2010, saying that retrofitting canals and ditches with relatively small water control structures would allow for increased water retention for miles upstream.

The structures are also more cost effective than stormwater treatment areas or reservoirs, which can take over a decade to build and can cost as much as $76 million. Dispersed water management projects, on the other hand, can be completed in a couple years for less than half the cost.

One of the ancillary benefits of the projects is phosphorus reduction in Lake Okeechobee, which flows into the larger Caloosahatchee River. Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen often lead to large-scale algal blooms that choke off oxygen to other marine species, causing fish and mammal kills and doing a number on local economies.

Water storage on Florida ranches may be beneficial to both state ranchers and the environment, but it hasn’t been without controversy. Last month, water management board member Joe Collins got caught in the crosshairs of a decision to store 34,000 acre-feet of water on Lykes Brothers ranch in Glades County. (Collins is vice president of Lykes’ ranching division.) Though Collins did not vote on the deal, which would span 10 years, many alleged a conflict of interest. The district later announced it would stick with the deal, and Collins himself said he would not resign because of it.

“These projects are cost efficient, can be implemented quickly, and build relationships with landowners,” said Audubon Everglades Policy Associate Jane Graham in response to the vote. “This is a bold step toward progress in the northern Everglades.”