WRAC Report February 8, 2007

This report summarizes the February 8, 2007 WRAC meeting, held at SFWMD, 3301 Gun Club Rd., West Palm Beach, FL

WRAC Recreation Issues Workshop: January 22, 2007, SFWMD, West Palm Beach, FL

The WRAC Lake Okeechobee Committee met on January 24, 2007 in Ft. Myers, FL. The Committee report, “Importance Ranking” results and minor changes to the draft recommendations paper from that meeting have been posted to http://my.sfwmd.gov/wrac, and have been forwarded to the WRAC.

ACTION - Regional Water Availability Rule (Item 2): The WRAC agreed without objection to move the proposed Regional Water Availability Rule on to the SFWMD Governing Board.

ONGOING ISSUE – Overview of the Floridan Aquifer (Item 3): Need to ensure better understanding of the extent of sustainable yield of the Floridan Aquifer to avoid future adverse impacts.

ACTION – Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan (Item 5): The WRAC agreed without objection to move the proposed Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan on to the SFWMD Governing Board.

ACTION – Recreation Issues (Item 7): Recreational fishing: WRAC Chair will discuss bank fishing opportunities for youth with SFWMD Governing Board. Recreation Issues Chair will work with staff and City of Wellington regarding waterfowl hunting in STA-1 East.

ACTION – WRAC Lake Okeechobee Committee (Item 9): SFWMD Staff will draft a resolution in support of Lake Okeechobee/Estuaries legislation for consideration by the committee and the WRAC.

ONGOING ISSUE (Item 10): Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan Update – Need to focus on achieving the phosphorous reduction goals and meeting the future Total Maximum Daily Load for the lake.

ACTION – Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule Revisions (Item 11): SFWMD Staff will work with stakeholders and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address: Appropriate low lake operational terms for the USACE Lake Water Control Plan; the potential for revising the SFWMD Adaptive Protocols for Lake Okeechobee Operations document; and the amendment of the SFWMD Water Shortage Plan.

1 Regional Water Availability Rule Issues/Discussion: o What will be the process for certification of water to be made available from CERP projects? o Will SFWMD certify non-CERP surplus wet season flows for use in water utility planning? o Need more funding for alternative water supply grants.

Overview, Floridan Aquifer Issues/Discussion: o Can the Floridan Aquifer meet projected future water demand? o Impacts of sprawl on Floridan Aquifer high recharge areas? Central Florida Area Coordination effort (SFWMD, SWFWMD, SJRWMD) is addressing those and other issues. o Modeling will be done and will improve understanding. Need to check number of monitoring wells. o Have time to develop the information and put controls in place. o Don’t want repeat of Biscayne Aquifer impacts.

Lower East Coast Water Supply Plan Issues/Discussion: o Concerns about meeting future water use demand projections. Alternative Water Supply grant funding is limited. There are many more projects than funds available. “Placeholders” are in the plan for local governments that have not submitted projects; o Information about Biscayne Bay (Ch. 6) will be cross referenced to Ch. 3. o SFWMD will continue to work with South Florida Regional Planning Council on population projections. o City of Hialeah proposal for 35 mgd desalination plant not included in plan but can be included during annual plan amendment process. o SFWMD should urge cities to adopt ordinances requiring greater water consumption. LEC Plan will be modified to highlight need for conservation savings for all water utilities. o Consumptive Use Permits require conservation; more aggressive conservation plans are being required for permit renewals. o Concerned about proposed increase in use of freshwater by power plants. o In consultation with stakeholders, new language will be added to plan to support development of sub-regional model for C-139 Basin.

Public Comment: o C-139 Basin is in LEC Water Supply Plan and there has been a concern about increased withdrawals to meet future demand; o tailwater recovery has been suggested as a solution but need sub-regional model runs to inform the decision-making;

2 Recreation Issues/Discussion: o The Recreation Issues Workshop proposed holding two quarterly meetings/year in locations other than West Palm Beach. The WRAC agreed. o Recreation users assumed STA1-East would be available for hunting, however, when annexed by City of Wellington, there was no agreement that it would be. o District waters must meet State Water Quality Standards for Class III waters (fishable/swimable) for fishing to be permitted. Need to work with DEP and EPA on this issue o Need to find opportunities for youth bank fishing on District waters.

Public Comment: Youth Duck Hunt and BBQ was very successful and drew 150 people. Waterfowlers groups will oppose Palm Beach County proposal for locating a landfill near Water Conservation Area 1.

Lake Okeechobee Committee Issues/Discussion: o Draft Recommendations and “Importance Rankings” forwarded for WRAC Member information and use. Will be refined further by committee. o Committee will be asked to recommend priorities and elements of a comprehensive plan for restoring and protecting the lake and estuaries. o Need maps with specific location of lands to be acquired for Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation. Those maps are being worked up and will be distributed. o USACE is working to find alternatives to additional land acquisition. o Need presentation to Committee on FAU work with Economic Planning effort in lake area (Inland Port, use of canals, etc.)

Lake Okeechobee regulation Schedule Revisions Issues/Discussion: o USACE said impacts of revised schedule were included in modeling done for the Environmental Impact Statement. o Concerns remain about establishing an “unofficial floor” and number of times water restrictions might be required with implementation of new schedule. o Still need to include protocols for water supply releases during a drought. o Concerns about releases and future wet years. o Concerns about achieving phosphorous reduction goals.

Future Meetings:  February 28: WRAC Lake Okeechobee Committee Meeting, SFWMD Martin/St. Lucie Service Center, Stuart, FL  March 7 – Tentative WRAC Field Trip – Disney Wilderness Preserve, 2-5 p.m.

3  March 8 – WRAC Meeting, Radisson Hotel, Kissimmee, FL  March 28 – WRAC Lake Okeechobee Committee, SFWMD, West Palm Beach, FL

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