Environmental Intersection by George Lindemann

Water Management District unanimously approves Everglades projects

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.”

http://floridaindependent.com/52157/sfwmd-everglades

South Florida Water Managers Take Steps to Increase Water Storage Dispersed water projects provide a cost-effective method of keeping water on the landscape

October 14, 2011

CONTACT:

Randy Smith

South Florida Water Management District

Office: (561) 682-2800 or Cellular: (561) 389-3386

www.sfwmd.gov/news

South Florida Water Managers Take Steps to Increase Water Storage

Dispersed water projects provide a cost-effective method of keeping water on the landscape

(Top) In early 2009, the Nine Gems property sat mostly dry. (Bottom) The District, in cooperation with Martin County, has since restored the land’s hydrology to add 2,000 acre-feet of regional water storage.

West Palm Beach, FL — The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board this week approved eight cost-effective projects to increase water storage on ranches north of Lake Okeechobee while improving water quality for the Everglades as well as for the lake and coastal estuaries.

“The future of water storage north of Lake Okeechobee relies on innovative public-private partnerships and marks a milestone in our collective efforts to preserve both the Northern Everglades and our working landscapes for future generations,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. “This program is a progressive way of achieving our shared goals of environmental restoration and a healthy and sustainable agricultural economy.”

With a $7 million investment over 10 years, the eight contracts will provide 4,800 acre-feet of water retention in the Northern Everglades to assist with meeting the storage and water quality improvement goals for the watershed. Within six months, all of the projects will be fully operational and demonstrating these cost-effective water retention services.

“It is imperative that we work to get the water right in South Florida, which includes both ensuring an adequate water supply and improving water quality,” said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “The projects approved by the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board will allow the district to collaborate with property owners to retain excess water on public, private and tribal lands to ensure a more reliable water supply for Florida’s future generations.”

The projects in Okeechobee, Highlands and Polk counties, along with the amount of water able to be retained, include:

Alderman-Deloney Ranch: 147 acre-feet

Buck Island Ranch: 1,573 acre-feet

Dixie Ranch: 856 acre-feet

Dixie West: 315 acre-feet

Lightsey Cattle Company: 887 acre-feet

Lost Oak Ranch: 374 acre-feet

Triple A Ranch: 397 acre-feet

Willaway Cattle & Sod: 229 acre-feet

Dispersed Water Management Program

Since the start of its Dispersed Water Management Program in 2005, the District has collaborated with a coalition of agencies, environmental organizations, ranchers and researchers to enhance opportunities for storing excess surface water on private, public and tribal lands. In addition to utilizing regional public projects, the program encourages property owners to retain water on their land rather than drain it and to accept and detain regional runoff.

“Storing large volumes of water north and south of Lake Okeechobee is one of the most significant water management challenges facing South Florida,” said SFWMD Executive Director Melissa Meeker. “Assembling a collection of shallow, on-site retention projects — that work in conjunction with planned regional reservoirs — sustains local economies and helps to meet the State’s Everglades restoration goals.”

To expand the effort following the pilot Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project (FRESP), the District issued a solicitation in January 2011 aimed at ranch owners in the Northern Everglades region. A total of 14 proposals were evaluated and ranked in response to the competitive solicitation. The eight approved projects were determined through a Governing Board-approved negotiation process.

The selected ranchers will receive financial assistance in making the best use of existing infrastructure and/or developing new, simple infrastructure that will increase water and nutrient retention capabilities. All projects will be monitored under an agreement with the World Wildlife Fund to document that the contracts, known as Payment for Environmental Services (PES), are meeting the water retention goals.

“The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida, a supporter and contributor to the Northern Everglades – Payment for Environmental Services (NE-PES) initiative from the beginning, is excited and proud to be a part of one of the nation’s largest market-based payment for environmental services programs,” said Carlos Suarez, state conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). “We anticipate that the NE-PES program will contribute toward sustaining cattle ranching as an important industry throughout the region, maintaining important wildlife habitats, improving wetlands and keeping working lands working.”

The Dispersed Water Management Program Northern Everglades – Payment for Environmental Services is being implemented in coordination with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the NRCS, World Wildlife Fund and UF/IFAS.

For more information:

·         Just the Facts: Dispersed Water Management Program

·         List of the FY2012 Projects: Northern Everglades

·         Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program

·         Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project

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About the South Florida Water Management District

The South Florida Water Management District is a regional, governmental agency that oversees the water resources in the southern half of the state – 16 counties from Orlando to the Keys. It is the oldest and largest of the state’s five water management districts. The agency mission is to manage and protect water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply. A key initiative is cleanup and restoration of the Everglades.