Caloosahatchee - Everglades Restoration

Transcription

1 Caloosahatchee - Everglades Restoration Captiva Community Panel December 13, 2016

2 Orlando Upper Chain of Lakes Lake Kissimmee Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee Caloosahatchee St. Lucie River Everglades Florida Bay Historic Flow

3 1880 s Channelizing Begins Disston s Legacy

4 Changes in Timing & Quality of Inflow From Sheet Flow to Channelized Flow Source: Lodge, Everglades Handbook

5 Caloosahatchee Waterfall No Navigable Connection Intermittent Lake Flow to West Year-round Springs & Groundwater Flow

6 Draining the Swamp

7 Lake Okeechobee & Herbert Hoover Dike

8 Source: Havens et al. 1996

9 Lake Okeechobee Diked Reduced Lake Size & Storage Capacity Changed Discharge to Estuaries West and East X 15.5

10 Everglades Squeeze

11 Caloosahatchee Dredged & Straightened River Pooled System Three Lock & Dams

12 Caloosahatchee Flow and Water Quality Impacted by Lake Okeechobee and Caloosahatchee Watershed = 865,488 acres

13 Today s Everglades Federal State Partnership

14 Unintended Impacts of C&SF Project Loss of Storage Too Much/Too Little Water Water Quality Degradation Wrong Timing of Water Estuary Impacts Nutrient Enrichment= Algal Blooms Habitat & Wildlife Losses

15 Water Decisions Driven by Lake O Levels Lake Regulation Schedule LORS 08 Caloosahatchee Receives % Even When Estuaries Harmed No Water to the EAA= Ideal Conditions

16 Excess Caloosahatchee Flow: Caloosahatchee & Lake O Watershed 82% Lake O 12%

17 Jan Feb Lake O 71% 2800 cfs 2,800 = Harm cfs = Harm Aug- Sept Watershed 67 % Oyster 2800 cfs = s Harm Impacted Lake O 33%

18 State of the Caloosahatchee & Estuary The Goldilocks Principle Too Much Flow June, 2005 Too Little Flow June, 2008 What s Needed to Get it Just Right?

19 Too Much Flow Lost 11,000 acres of Lake and Marsh Storage Caloosahatchee Lack of Storage = No Treatment Pine Island Sound Ding Darling Refuge

20 Too Little Flow Flow Needed for Tapegrass December, 2010 August, 2010 Essential habitat for Fish, Shrimp, Clams, Blue crabs and Manatees

21 Solutions: Storage North, South, West & East Need 450,000 AF Not All Storage Is Equal

22 Solution: Restore Flow Connection South Benefits: Reduce High Estuary Discharge Restore Water Supply to Ev Nat'l Park Florida Bay Improve Water Quality Protect Habitat & Wildlife

23 Myth vs. Facts About Restoration Fixing the Dike Will Allow More Water Storage in Lake Store More Water North of the Lake Don t Need South Storage Deep Well Injection of Water North to Reduce Surface Storage Don t need to Buy Land South Use State Owned Land More Storage Needed Than Planned Only 1/3 rd of ASR wells possible Lake Managed Lower EAA Reservoirs Now FEBs Available ASR Reservoirs North = 200K acft EAA Reservoir = 360 K acft ASR 1.2 M ac-ft Only 1/3 possible = 400K acft 80% of Treatment Capacity Used by EAA

24 Fix Dike to Raise Water Levels? No! St Lucie River Caloosahatchee Photo NASA

25 Storage North Kissimmee River Restoration 2019 Completion Lake Okeechobee Watershed Surface Reservoirs ASR Groundwater Storage Deep Injection Well Disposal

26 North vs. South Storage North: Limited Storage, 1 Outlet, WQ, Dry Season Benefit Drought No Water to Everglades South: Affect Lake Levels, Reduce Estuary Discharges, Move Water South for Everglades Dry & Wet Season Benefit t

27 EAA Storage Critical Project Needed to Flow Water South Take Pressure off Dike Protect Lake O & Communities Reduce Estuary High Flows Additional Water Supply Ag Store & Clean Water Improve Flow & Timing of Water Water for Ev Natl Park/ Florida Bay

28 2016 Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS)

29 Caloosahatchee Storage & Treatment Historic & Proposed Lake Flirt (left) and Bonnet Lake (right) Lake O Caloosahatchee 1,770-acre Nitrogen Treatment Area Lake Hicpochee C-43 Reservoir

30 The C-43 Reservoir Project A 170,000 acre ft Storage Capacity Provide Some Dry Season Storage Under construction through 2020 pushed out to 2022 Replace Some Lost Storage Capacity Needs Water Quality Existing Test Cells Cost $577 million

31 Progress Tamiami Trail 1 mile bridge Next 2.6 miles in design C43 Reservoir Work Started = 170,000 AF 25% of need Pushed back 2 years from Nicodemus Slough online = 34,000 AF Storage South of Lake Water quality Plan Restoration Strategies CEP Authorized WRDA Bill What s needed is Accelerate South of Lake Planning Political Will to prioritize and fund

32 SCCF RECON Measures Water Quality

33 Proactive Caloosahatchee Partnership Weekly Agency Science Calls and Reports

34 SCCF Oyster & Seagrass Restoration

35 Economic Impacts - Lee & Collier $4.3 billion in tourism value 85,000 jobs $400 million bed, sales, gas & local tax $147 billion real estate values $1.9 billion in property taxes paid Water quality issues impact consumer confidence;

36 Economic Impact of Water Quality Florida Realtors Study

37 Two Things You Can Do Today 1. Become More Informed Sign Up for Newsletter and Alerts

38 2. Commit to Make Your Voice Heard SCCFs Action Alerts Get the Facts Engage Take Action Calls/Letters Support Efforts Makes it Easy Talk to Commissioners Communicate with Electeds Engage with Appointees Do You Have a Connection?

39 Upcoming Meetings of Interest

40 Caloosahatchee Oxbow & Riverlore Cruises Sunday January 8 EvCo Conf Sunday - January 29 Sunday - February 12 Sunday - February 19 Sunday - March 12 Sunday - April 19 Sunday - May 14, Mothers Day Join Us on the River!

41 Thank You! We Are Here Rae Ann Wessel SCCF Natural Resource Policy Director