Someone finally woke up..

[JackL]

...at the SFWMD?




By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 15 2007

 
Recent rains moved South Florida residents closer to eased water restrictions on Thursday. But the continued drop of Lake Okeechobee has state officials considering "backpumping" storm water into the lake, despite pollution concerns.

With June on pace for above-normal rainfall, South Florida Water Management District officials on Thursday said that before the end of the month, they could move Broward and Palm Beach counties from once-a-week yard watering to twice a week.
 
"We don't want to keep people in [restrictions] any longer than we need to," said Terrie Bates, assistant deputy executive director of water resources.

Still, this year's drought has persuaded the district to consider imposing less stringent but year-round restrictions, an idea the board agreed to fast-track on Thursday. If approved, those restrictions would limit watering to three times a week, during the morning and evening hours, drought or no drought.

The year-round idea could go before the board as soon as July 12, with the new rules starting in September.

As of Wednesday, an average of 4.46 inches of rain fell this month throughout the district, which stretches from Orlando to the Keys. That was 1.25 inches above normal.

That rain, though, has not been enough to stop Lake Okeechobee water levels from dropping to an all-time low, straining South Florida's backup drinking water supply and the water used by growers in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Without enough storage areas to hold rainwater, managers have turned to the idea of backpumping. That involves redirecting water that falls on agricultural land back into the lake, boosting water levels that can later be used for irrigation, but also dumping fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants into the lake.

David Reiner, president of the Friends of the Everglades, said the potential environmental harm outweighs the benefits of storing water.

"We are dead-set against them backpumping dirty, filthy, polluted water," he said.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimates the economic impact of this year's drought could hit $1 billion, said Nelson Mongiovi, the department's marketing director. Backpumping should be considered to ease the strain on Florida's second largest industry, he said.

"We need water," Mongiovi told water district governing board members Thursday. "There's a price associated with not putting it there."

The district has been talking with state environmental regulators, which would determine whether to start backpumping.

"It is going to come back ... unless we are extremely lucky," board member Michael Collins said. "We are going to have to look at it again."

More pollution in the lake fuels the creation of more of the damaging muck that coats the bottom of the lake, Reiner said.

The district has been taking advantage of the drought by using bulldozers to scrape muck off exposed lakebed and on Thursday agreed to spend $9 million more to keep digging.

"It's just going to create more muck for them to clean out later," Reiner said. "There is no sense in saving that water."

Backpumping might help agriculture, but putting more pollution in the lake also hurts fishing grounds, which translates to more economic hardship for fishing guides, bait shops and hotels near the lake already suffering during the drought, said Jamie Furgang, Everglades policy associate for Audubon of Florida.

"We have to also think of the economic impact of backpumping water into Lake Okeechobee," Furgang said. "There's a lot of different factors at play here."

The lack of water storage is among the reasons district officials are considering allowing residents to resume watering more often. Water levels in residential canals that restock urban well fields are up and with nowhere else to store it, the district has been dumping water into the ocean.
 
"Our goal is, hold as much of it as we can, but not risk flood protection," said Cal Neidrauer, a consulting engineer for the district.

Afternoon thunderstorms are expected through the weekend, nurtured by a tropical disturbance in the northwest Caribbean on Thursday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Dixon.
 
The chance of rain was forecast to be 60 percent today and 50 percent on Saturday and Sunday.

The lake on Thursday measured 8.91 feet, 4 feet below normal.

Without above-normal rainfall this summer, the district projects a worse water shortage next year that could drop the lake to the 5-foot range.

"Very scary," Neidrauer said.

[illegal26]

I started to post that last nite
but.

[lswjth2]

This is why i HATE SFWMD so much. They tell me that my ATV/OHV "damages" the environment, BULL CRAP. Folks, there is no "everglades restoration", just another plumbing job. In 2002, then Governor Bush and the Florida cabinet signed an ammendment into CERP allowing big sugar and the EAA region to continue to pollute into lake O for an additional 10 years. One of the board members of SFWMD is a VP of US Sugar. SFWMD and DEP were found guilty of polluting into the Glades in 2005 by a federal magistrate. They kick us out in the name of restoration, and brecause we do "harm". SFWMD is a rogue,lying,cheating, SCUM of the earth state puppet agency that needs to be done away with.


Now let me tell you how I really feel..........

[cheropride]

Thanks for the update Jack....

[Bigscrb15]

....Now let me tell you how I really feel..........

I can already see you at the Rally looking like an independent baptist preacher, runnin around, jumpin, hollerin, and lettin us hear how you feel.

[lswjth2]

Amen brother Scrub, Now DEVIL (SFWMD) GET OUT!!!!

[duroc825]

Here's a question to ponder. Why is it every time there is a lack of rain we go on water restrictions and as soon as it begins to rain those resrictions are removed? This is where I get confused, if it's raining then one probably wouldn't need to water their lawn more often than when it's not would they? I personally don't water my yard (too big) and it actually looks great about two days after the first rain of the season all the way through the winter. If a lawn can survive on once a week watering through a drought, I'm no greenthumb, now I would tend to believe a lawn would do pretty well on once weekly watering during the rainy season right? Maybe I just try to make things too simple and in turn start confusing myself, does that qualify me for a political job?

[KB]

Duroc,( not trying to get off topic)
 but my yard was brown too, burnt up, after first rain it turned green, I was surprised it came back.

[JackL]

This is why i HATE SFWMD so much. They tell me that my ATV/OHV "damages" the environment, BULL CRAP. Folks, there is no "everglades restoration", just another plumbing job. In 2002, then Governor Bush and the Florida cabinet signed an ammendment into CERP allowing big sugar and the EAA region to continue to pollute into lake O for an additional 10 years. One of the board members of SFWMD is a VP of US Sugar. SFWMD and DEP were found guilty of polluting into the Glades in 2005 by a federal magistrate. They kick us out in the name of restoration, and brecause we do "harm". SFWMD is a rogue,lying,cheating, SCUM of the earth state puppet agency that needs to be done away with.


Now let me tell you how I really feel..........

I'm with you on the freakin shadow controllers of our swamp. They will find enough water for 5 million new residents at any cost, even if it means turning this place into a desert to prove we need major water management upgrades. Looks like mother nature doesn't want to cooperate with them though.