Estero Bay Watershed Assessment
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Estero Bay Watershed Assessment Volume D: Management Options - Draft Report - Prepared for: South Florida Water Management District P.O. Box 24680 3301 Gun Club Road West Palm Beach, Florida 33416-4680 Prepared by: PBS&J, Inc. 5300 West Cypress Street Suite 300 Tampa, Florida 33607-1712 July 1999 Estero Bay Watershed Assessment Volume D: Management Options - Draft Report - Prepared for: South Florida Water Management District P.O. Box 24680 3301 Gun Club Road West Palm Beach, Florida 33416-4680 Prepared by: Ralph Montgomery, Project Manager Robert Woithe Pam Latham Douglas Robison PBS&J, Inc. 5300 West Cypress Street Suite 300 Tampa, Florida 33607-1712 July, 1999 FOREWARD This report was prepared in fulfillment of the Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment being conducted by PBS&J, Inc. for the South Florida Water Management District under Contract No. C-7784. Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors of this report wish to acknowledge the contributions of a number of people. South Florida Water Management District staff, Terry Bray and Keith Kibbey of Lee County, David Burr and Wayne Daltry of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, Johnson Engineering, Inc., the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Florida Fish and Game Commission all provided information necessary for developing and analyzing management options. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of: Debra Childs for the GIS work; Anthony Janiki, Susan Janicki, and Ray Prible for data compilation, management and anlaysis; and Candace Daniel for word processing support. i-4 Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Study Area Characteristics ......................................................................................... 1-2 1.3 Watershed Problems .................................................................................................. 1-4 1.4 Management Options ................................................................................................. 1-8 2.0 Prioritization of Basins .......................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Basin Prioritization Objectives .................................................................................. 2-1 2.2 Urban Runoff Discharge ............................................................................................ 2-2 2.3 Agricultural Runoff Discharge ................................................................................... 2-4 2.4 Total Suspended Solids Loading................................................................................ 2-4 2.5 Total Nitrogen Loading .............................................................................................. 2-6 2.6 Total Phosphorous Loading ....................................................................................... 2-7 2.7 Point Source Discharges ............................................................................................ 2-8 2.8 Overall Basin Prioritization ....................................................................................... 2-9 2.9 Wetlands at Risk ...................................................................................................... 2-10 3.0 Priority Tertiary Basins .................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Hendry Creek - 10 ...................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Hendry Creek - 8 ........................................................................................................ 3-2 3.3 Ten-Mile Canal - 11 ................................................................................................... 3-3 3.4 Mullock Creek - 4 ...................................................................................................... 3-4 3.5 Hendry Creek - 6 ........................................................................................................ 3-5 3.6 Hendry Creek - 9 ........................................................................................................ 3-6 3.7 Ten-Mile Canal - 4 ..................................................................................................... 3-7 3.8 Ten-Mile Canal - 9 ..................................................................................................... 3-8 4.0 Mangment Options ........................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Regional Surfacewater Treatment Facilities .............................................................. 4-6 4.2 Demonstrating Concurrence With Load Reductions ................................................. 4-7 4.3 Greater Treatment and Attenuation ............................................................................ 4-8 4.4 Mullock Creek Subbasin-Complex ............................................................................ 4-8 4.5 Imperial River Subbasin........................................................................................... 4-12 4.6 Wetlands at Risk ...................................................................................................... 4-14 4.7 Summary .................................................................................................................. 4-16 5.0 References Cited .............................................................................................................. 5-1 i-5 Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options i-6 Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options i-7 Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report, “Management Options for the Estero Bay Watershed,” forms Volume D of a series of reports developed for the South Florida Water Management District’s (SFWMD) Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Plan. Reports in the Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Plan series are listed below. ! Volume A. Literature Survey of the Estero Bay Watershed ! Volume B. Characterization Report ! Volume C. Basin Prioritization Report ! Volume D. Management Options Report ! Volume E. Monitoring Report ! Volume F. Estero Bay Resources Plan 1.1 BACKGROUND Estero Bay has long been recognized as one of Florida’s significant natural resources. The Bay was designated as the State’s first Aquatic Preserve. The Bay’s watershed also has a long history of both pre-Columbian and modern settlement and agriculture. The area in and around the Estero Bay watershed has undergone dramatic increases in the rate of residential and commercial development as well as population growth during the past 15 years. As a result, a series of initiatives has been proposed to balance development and environmental interests in the region. These initiatives are listed below and are discussed at length in other volumes of this report ! Arnold Committee, ! Estero Bay Agency on Bay Management, ! Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, ! Corps of Engineers Environmental Impact Statement, and the ! South Lee County Watershed Plan. \\SERVER1\SWFRPC\COUNCIL COMMITTEES\ESTERO BAY AGENCY ON BAY MANAGEMENT\ESTERO BAY AND WATERSHED ASSESSMENT VOLUME D_MANAGEMENT OPTIONS\CHAP_1.DOC -1 Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment Management Options 1.2 STUDY AREA CHARACTERISTICS This report describes and analyzes management options for Florida’s Estero Bay Watershed . The watershed includes a portion of Lee County south of the Caloosahatchee River, parts of northeastern Collier County, and a small area of Hendry County (Figure 1-1). A substantial portion of the northern watershed area is within the City of Ft. Myers. Other population centers in the watershed are Bonita Springs and the City of Ft. Myers Beach. The Estero Bay watershed includes all of Estero Bay, most of which lies within the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, and the adjacent barrier islands. Hendry Creek, Mullock Creek, the Estero River, areas of Corkscrew Swamp, Flint Pen Strand, Spring Creek, and the Imperial River are major surface water features in the watershed. Hendry Creek, Mullock Creek, Estero River, Spring Creek, and the Imperial River experience some degree of tidal influenced. The portion of the Estero River east of U.S. 41 is a slow conveyance system and is considered a recharge area along with the Imperial River east of I-75 (SWFRPC, 1995). Local drainage canals tend to provide some regional flood protection during wet periods, but also lead to over-drainage during dry periods. The Estero Bay Watershed is divided into the nine secondary basins for the purpose of this report. These basins are listed below. ! Estero River ! Ten-Mile Canal ! Spring Creek ! Cow Creek ! Hendry Creek ! Imperial River ! Mullock Creek ! Barrier Islands ! Six-Mile Cypress Slough Cow, Hendry, and Mullock creeks are coastal basins that flow into north Estero Bay. Six-Mile Cypress Slough and Ten Mile Canal do not have direct discharges to the bay, but they are important sources for Mullock Creek, which flows directly into the bay. The Estero River and Spring Creek flow into Estero Bay in the central