Water SUMMIT 2007 Notes from Donna Storter Long

July 30, 2007

Water in south Florida is a recent topic of a lot of conversations, including that of concerned citizens of Glades County who are very aware of the effects of the current drought.  Our annual tax bills include assessments for water resource management, so WE HAVE A VESTED INTEREST in how our water rights are protected.

Today the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) hosted a Water Summit at their headquarters in West Palm Beach, and though the all day session was long, it was VERY informative. 

A facilitator/moderator introduced the presenters-all top SFWMD staff- and these participants:

Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah
Hendry County Commissioner Kevin McCarthy
Martin County Commissioner Michael DiTerlizzi
Mayor City of Pahokee J. P. Sasser
Lykes Bros. Engineering Manager Joe Collins, P.E.
Roland Martin’s Marina Owner Mary Ann Martin
United Waterfowlers Florida President Newton Cook
Palm Beach County Water Resources Manager Ken Todd
Florida Sugar Can Growers Coop VP Barbara Miedema
Audubon of Florida Science Coordinator Paul Gray Ph.D.
National Parks Conservation Association Director John Adornato

Discussion covered many topics, some of which were:

SFWMD’s operations and maintenance of 2k miles of canals, 2200 water control structure and 60 pumps stations cross the 16-county region of south Florida

Watershed Management including studying/evaluating/monitoring environmental and ecological systems within the district

STAs Stormwater Treatment Areas and WCAs Water Conservation Areas for storage of water released from Lake Okeechobee

Weather (short-term forecasts) and Climate (long term outlook) and their effect on SFWMD operations using systems modeling

Concern for quality of Kissimmee River Valley water which is the greatest input source for Lake O

Operations Control that compile and correlate data for decision-making on managing Florida’s most valuable resource: WATER

The most interesting presentation was a model of options that the participants “operated” for monthly decisions relative to Lake Okeechobee, with penalty points assessed for bad decisions.  Using known lake levels and conditions of the STAs, WCAs and estuaries of the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie River, DECISIONS were made concerning releasing water and the effects of those actions cumulatively through the year. Untimely or delayed water releases both had great consequence and the “what if” scenarios were eye-openers.

Though we were viewing a very simplified model using limited data that considered lake levels, basin inflows, and storage capacities, the  participants and the public audience came away with a greater appreciation for the process of SFWMD  operations’ decisions for release from or retention of water in Lake Okeechobee,

Did you know that the nesting habitat of wading birds is evaluated and reported to operations management for input on water release decisions?  Native birds are great environmental “barometers”.  This may sound like a minor component; we realized today that every aspect must be given weight in considering the best management of water in south Florida.

SFWMD is making a concerted effort to involve public input through advertising and invitations to the public to attend their open meetings.

Their website is:

http://www.sfwmd.gov/site/index.php?id=1  where you can click on News, Events and Meetings to find their monthly Calendar.

The criteria for major decisions on water management are very complex and SFWMD is not the sole decider but has direction from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE).

Other “water” meetings that you may be interested in are hosted by USACOE, and I’ve attached their schedule for August.

Donna Storter Long
3345 Coffee Mill Hammock
Moore Haven, FL 33471-8417
Glades County Commissioner
dsl@myglades.com