Apalachicola River and Bay Surface Water Improvement and Management Plan November 2017 Program Development Series 17-09 Northwest Florida Water Management District Apalachicola River and Bay Surface Water Improvement and Management Plan November 2017 Program Development Series 17-09 NORTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD George Roberts Jerry Pate John Alter Chair, Panama City Vice Chair, Pensacola Secretary-Treasurer, Malone Gus Andrews Jon Costello Marc Dunbar DeFuniak Springs Tallahassee Tallahassee Ted Everett Nick Patronis Bo Spring Chipley Panama City Beach Port St. Joe Brett J. Cyphers Executive Director Headquarters 81 Water Management Drive Havana, Florida 32333-4712 (850) 539-5999 www.nwfwater.com Crestview Econfina Milton 180 E. Redstone Avenue 6418 E. Highway 20 5453 Davisson Road Crestview, Florida 32539 Youngstown, FL 32466 Milton, FL 32583 (850) 683-5044 (850) 722-9919 (850) 626-3101 Apalachicola River and Bay SWIM Plan Northwest Florida Water Management District Acknowledgements This document was developed by the Northwest Florida Water Management District under the auspices of the Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program and in accordance with sections 373.451-459, Florida Statutes. The plan update was prepared under the supervision and oversight of Brett Cyphers, Executive Director and Carlos Herd, Director, Division of Resource Management. Funding support was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. The assistance and support of the NFWF is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would like to especially recognize members of the public, as well as agency reviewers and staff from the District and from the Ecology and Environment, Inc., team that contributed to the development of this plan. Among those that contributed considerable time and effort to assist in the development of this plan are the following. Their assistance and thoughtful comments were invaluable and are gratefully acknowledged. Plan Development Apalachee Regional Planning Council. Northwest Florida Water Management District Joe Crozier Sara Thomas Paul Thorpe Elaine McKinnon Nicole Johnson Janice Watson Karen Kebart Brittany Wood Chris Rietow Christina Coger Nick Wooten Jesse Gray Brett Cyphers Technical and Public Review Anita Grove, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Yin-Hsuen Chen, University of Florida Jennifer Harper, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Joann Mossa, University of Florida Jonathan Brucker, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Erik Lovestrand, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural (DEP), Aquatic Preserves Office Sciences Megan Christopher, DEP Melody Ray-Culp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nikkie Cox, DEP (USFWS) Katie Davis, DEP Maureen Walsh, USFWS Lisa Robertson, DEP Jason Drake, U.S. Forest Service Cindy Clark, City of Apalachicola Paul Medley, U.S. Forest Service Lee Mathes, City of Apalachicola Donna Legare, Apalachee Audubon Society Courtney Dempsey, City of Carrabelle Jody Walthall, Apalachee Audubon Society Brenda LaPaz, City of Carrabelle Rob Williams, Apalachee Audubon Society Angie Smith, Calhoun County Dan Tonsmeire, Apalachicola Riverkeeper Chelsea Snowden, Calhoun County Rick Harter, Ecology and Environment, Inc. Frank Snowden, Calhoun County Kent Wimmer, Florida Defenders of Wildlife Kathleen Greenwood, Florida Department of Agriculture and Robin Rickel Vroegop, Basecamp Apalach Consumer Services (FDACS) Betty Webb, BTW Services Carrie Jones, FDACS Joe Taylor, Franklin’s Promise Coalition Roy Lima, FDACS Sean McGlynn, McGlynn Labs Jeff Vowell, FDACS Darryl Boudreau, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Dan Pennington, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Janet Bowman, TNC Steve Geiger, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Amanda Green, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (FWC) (NFWF) Ted Hoehn, FWC Jonathan Porthouse, NFWF Matthew Hortman, FWC Mike Sharp, NFWF Jordan Hults, FWC Jessica Bibza, National Wildlife Federation B.J. Jamison, FWC Herman Jones, Private Citizen Thomas Kuhn, FWC Pam Jones, Private Citizen, Katie Konchar, FWC Ben Martinez, Private Citizen Gareth Leonard, FWC Dusty May, Private Citizen Phil Manor, FWC Betty Pettis, Private Citizen Amy Raker, FWC Beth Wright, Private Citizen Kent Smith, FWC Duncan Cairns, Retired NWFWMD Ricky Jones, Franklin County Chad Taylor, Riparian County Stakeholder Coalition Alan Pierce, Franklin County Shannon Hartsfield, Seafood Management Assistance Jill Jeglie, Gadsden County Resource and Recovery Team Warren Yeager, Gulf County George Willson, Tall Timbers Research Station Rett Daniels, Jackson County Parks and Recreation Cover Photograph: Cash Bayou (John Crowe) i Apalachicola River and Bay SWIM Plan Northwest Florida Water Management District Executive Summary The Apalachicola River and Bay watershed is renowned for its environmental and economic resources and widely recognized as a waterbody of state, national, and international significance. For the purposes of this plan, the watershed is defined as including the Apalachicola, Chipola, New, and Carrabelle rivers; Lake Wimico; the interconnected estuarine system of Apalachicola Bay, East Bay, St. George Sound, St. Vincent Sound, and Alligator Harbor; together with the tributaries and contributing watershed areas of all of these waterbodies. Within Florida, the watershed encompasses about 2,850 square miles. This constitutes the downstream reach of the larger Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) rivers basin, which drains over 20,000 square miles of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. Apalachicola Bay and adjacent watershed areas have been designated by the United States as a National Estuarine Research Reserve and the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve. Florida has designated the river and bay as Outstanding Florida Waters and portions of the estuary are within two aquatic preserves. Numerous listed plant and animal species are supported by the system. The river harbors the most diverse assemblage of freshwater fish in Florida, and its contributing basin provides habitat to some of the highest densities of reptile and amphibian species on the continent. Furthermore, Apalachicola Bay supports some of the most significant fisheries in the southeastern United States. Historically, the bay has produced over 90 percent of the commercially harvested oysters within the state of Florida and about 10 percent of the harvest nationally. The bay also provides habitat for numerous other species, including blue crab, shrimp, and many species of finfish. Historically, a large proportion of the region’s work force has been employed in the commercial fishing and other resource-based industries. This is the second Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) plan update for the Apalachicola River and Bay watershed. The purpose of the plan is to provide a framework for resource management, protection, and restoration using a watershed approach. Protecting and restoring watershed resources is a shared responsibility on the part of numerous stakeholders, including local governments, state and federal agencies, private businesses, and the public. It requires building upon past accomplishments to encompass a range of management approaches. The Apalachicola River and Bay Management Plan was approved by the District in 1992 and updated in 1996. Since that time, significant progress has been achieved. Restoration projects have been completed within eight sub-basins within Tates Hell Swamp, resulting in numerous hydrologic improvements and restoration of natural wetland vegetation. Stormwater treatment systems have been constructed in communities throughout the watershed, and the District has initiated an ambitious effort to work in partnership with agricultural producers to implement enhanced agricultural best management practices across the Jackson Blue Spring groundwater contribution area. Other projects completed or initiated have included hydrodynamic model development and public education and awareness initiatives. Over 610,000 acres of land have been acquired within the watershed to protect water and related resources. This constitutes over 30 percent of the watershed within Florida. Among these lands are the Apalachicola River Water Management Area, Tate’s Hell State Forest, the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area, several state parks, and the St. Vincent Island National Wildlife Refuge. The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and Apalachicola Bay and Alligator Harbor Aquatic Preserves provide further protection to waters within the estuary. Despite the accomplishments achieved to date, challenges continue to affect water quality, natural systems, and the important public benefits provided by the Apalachicola River and Apalachicola Bay. While this plan is focused on actions that can be taken within Florida to protect and restore watershed resources, it must be recognized that increasing and unrestrained water withdrawals in Georgia have had profound adverse impacts on the ecology of the Apalachicola River and Bay system and on the economic resources that depend on this system. At the time of this writing, the state of Florida is engaged in ii Apalachicola River and Bay SWIM Plan Northwest Florida Water Management District litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the interstate conflict in a way that would sustain the resources of the watershed for current and future generations. Aside from the effects of out of state water withdrawals,