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The St. Johns River Water Management District
Government Waterwatch publication for March 2008 is now available at Waterwatch.

Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 9:53 AM
Subject: Lake Apopka Bird Survey - March Report and April Survey Announcement

Dear Avid Birders,
Upcoming April Bird Survey:
   The April Bird Survey at the Lake Apopka North Shore Restoration Area will be held Saturday, April 5, 2008. Please meet at the Lake Apopka Field Station at 7:30 a.m. Don’t forget to bring water, sunscreen, a hat, and the right gear for the weather.
Results from the March Bird Survey:
   We had a super turnout for the March survey.Thank you all for your tremendous continued support and efforts. We couldn’t possibly do this without such a fabulous group of volunteers!
   The group surveyed seven transects including areas 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 11. The weather was sunny and mild. The total number of bird observations recorded was 8,509 (compared to 12,867 birds in February 2008). A total of 95 species was identified; 81 species were recorded in February 2008. The largest numbers of birds were recorded on Laughlin Rd (2,260), Lust Rd (1,616), and Duda ABC (1,464).
   The highest species diversity was recorded on Duda – ABC Canal (66 species), Lake Level (55 species), and Lust Rd (53 species).
Red-winged Blackbird (2,905), Tree Swallow (2,176), Turkey Vulture (366), Common Moorhen (274), and Palm Warbler (270) were the most frequently observed species. Large numbers of Glossy Ibis (245), Yellow-rumped Warbler (173), and Anhinga (164) were also observed.
   Five duck species were observed this month; Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (15), Fulvous Whistling-Duck (20), Mottled Duck (4), Blue-winged Teal (75), and Hooded Merganser (2). The Northern Harrier (93) was the most frequently observed raptor species. Six warbler species were observed; Northern Parula (3), Yellow-rumped Warbler (173), Yellow-throated Warbler (1), Prairie Warbler (2), Palm Warbler (270), and Common Yellowthroat (69). Rare or unique sightings for the area or time of year included Least Bittern, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Limpkin, Ring-billed Gull, and Field Sparrow.
   I hope you’ll be able to join us on Saturday for the April survey!
Pam
Pamela J. Bowen
Environmental Scientist
St. Johns River Water Management District
4049 Reid Street/ Hwy 100 West
P. O. Box 1429, Palatka, Florida 32178-1429
ph: (386) 329-4870, FAX: (386) 329-4585
e-mail: pbowen@sjrwmd.com

Florida Is Slow to See the Need to Save Water
By ABBY GOODNOUGH, The New York Times

POMPANO BEACH, Fla., June 12 — Even as a drought and unprecedented water restrictions strip many Florida lawns of their lushness, Mark Harding has few takers for the artificial grass he sells from a showroom here. Inquiries are up, he said, but swapping turf for less thirsty alternatives remains hard for Floridians to get their heads around.
   “People are just starting to look at it,” said Mr. Harding, a transplant from Buffalo who admits to having replaced only a piece of his own lawn with the fake stuff. “It’s right in its infancy stage.”
   The same might be said for awareness that Florida’s water supply, seemingly endless given the abundance of springs, lakes, canals, aquifers and rainfall, is not.
   Many regions have all but depleted their groundwater supply, yet they have barely begun planning new water sources or enforcing conservation measures. Meanwhile, residential water bills in Florida’s urban areas — averaging $32 a month in Miami, for example — have remained much lower than those in many other cities.
   “We now face the scarcity, the spending and the spectacle that used to be unique to the arid West,” said Cynthia Barnett, the author of “Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.” But Ms. Barnett and others who study Florida’s water use say that unlike out West, a sense of urgency has not taken hold here, nor have government agencies taken the politically thorny steps some scientists say are necessary.
   The South Florida Water Management District, whose political appointees regulate water use in some of the thirstiest counties, is only now considering permanent, year-round watering restrictions. Many cities and homeowner associations still require grass lawns, blocking alternatives like sturdy ground cover, drought-resistant plants or Mr. Harding’s artificial turf.
   On Marco Island, near Naples, city officials made a homeowner get rid of $15,000 worth of artificial grass in 2005 on the grounds that it was offensive and might pose environmental risks. (He protested by painting his house with polka dots.) In the Villages, a vast retirement community near Orlando, a resident tried replacing sod with plantings that required less water, only to be rebuffed by the developer.
   (Worth noting: Kentucky bluegrass, the soft, archetypal grass of the Northeast and the Midwest, does not grow here. Instead, Florida’s trademark turf is St. Augustine grass, coarse, tough on bare feet and often laid on the ground in strips, not seeded.)
   Changing the rules on lawns could be significant, since Florida households — especially those with automatic irrigation systems, which are increasingly common — use up to 75 percent of their water outdoors.
   “The most important incentive we can establish is limiting lawn watering,” said Amy Vickers, an engineer and consultant who is helping Orange County rewrite its water conservation ordinance. “It’s reasonable and fair, and something I think we’ve got to learn to live with.”
   In Southeast Florida, the restrictions in place since March — twice-a-week watering in some areas, once a week in others — have been erratically enforced. Wellington, a wealthy community in Palm Beach County known for its polo grounds, has issued more than 2,200 water violations. But Miami Beach has issued none.
   To date, only the Tampa Bay region has faced a serious water crisis, after Pinellas County pumped too much groundwater from areas to its north in the 1980s. The region built a $158 million seawater desalination plant, but it has been fraught with problems and had to shut down for almost two years.
   Other parts of the state are now under pressure to plan similar projects because in 2005, the Legislature required cities and counties to prove they will have enough water for any new development. The law has been a wakeup call for counties like Miami-Dade and Broward, which reuse only a tiny part of their wastewater and flush the rest into the ocean or injection wells deep underground.
   In 2004, Miami-Dade asked to add 100 million gallons of water a day over the next two decades to the 346 million gallons a day it already uses. The county appeared shocked by the state’s response last year: that it could not keep tapping the Biscayne Aquifer, its cheap, longtime water source, and must create alternatives. The county is planning to spend $4.5 billion on projects like a high-tech wastewater disinfection plant over the coming decades.
   As the prospect of costly water projects looms, so do water wars reminiscent of those that have raged for years in the West.
   Orange County, home of Disney World, riled neighbors by requesting an additional 14 million gallons of groundwater a day, a 30 percent increase, over the next two decades. And residents of North Florida were outraged in 2003 when a group of developers urged the transfer of water from that region to the more crowded South Florida.
   For now, the state has pledged $60 million a year to help subsidize water projects from the Panhandle to the Keys. Where the rest will come from remains unclear, as does the wisdom of some of the proposed projects. Ms. Vickers said more studies were needed on the safety of treated wastewater, the main alternative source counties are eyeing.
   “What are the long-term impacts on health and the environment?” she asked. “I don’t think we know.”
   Since rain will keep falling in Florida — even now, after some of the driest months on record, South Florida has started seeing deluges again — cities here may never press conservation to the extent that many of their Western counterparts do, offering homeowners cash for every square foot of turf they tear up and rebates for water-efficient toilets and appliances.
   Yet some places are trying. After the 2001 drought, Ms. Barnett said, Sarasota County kept tough water-use rules in place and reduced its per-capita consumption to 90 gallons a day, compared with the state average of 174. Broward County now encourages homeowners to replace grass with native plants that need little water, sending out consultants who have helped remake 1,600 lawns. But it runs into trouble with homeowners’ associations that still require grass.
   “Until these older communities change their bylaws,” said Diana Guidry, a Broward County official, “a lot of people will meet resistance.”
   Marilyn Barber, whose yard was a carpet of grass when she moved to Broward County a decade ago, replaced all but 10 percent with plants that need watering only once a week. “Just like cars get smaller when gas gets high enough,” Mrs. Barber said, “if water becomes expensive or there isn’t enough of it, people will say, ‘Gee, I really can’t afford to have grass.’ ”
   For now — at least in Southeast Florida — that seems unlikely. More than eight inches of rain have fallen so far this month in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, compared with about three inches throughout May.
 
   [On Thursday, the South Florida Water Management District announced it was likely to ease the water restrictions soon.]

Original article published in the New York Times .

  • Water Management District Set to Issue Water Withdrawal Permit

    The St. Johns River Water Manage District has issued a notice of intention to issue the controversial water withdrawal permit to the City of Apopka. This permit will allow the City to withdraw up to 5 million gallons per day from Lake Apopka. The vote will come in the regular meeting of the SJRWMD Board of Governors on May 8 at 1:00 P.M. at the Palatka headquarters.

    The Friends of Lake Apopka have continued to object to any surface water withdrawals because of the potential impact on the long-term restoration of the lake and the north shore marshes. The lake is a shallow lake under normal circumstances and the drainage basin is relatively small, making any lowering of the lake levels a critical problem. Another concern about this permit relates to the future needs of other local governments for surface water. The City of Minneola has already expressed an interest in withdrawing up to 20 million gallons a day from the lake.

    While the City of Apopka permit allows an average of 5 million gallons per day (1825 million gallons per year), they are allowed to take up to 12.5 millions per day with a limit of 325.5 million gallons per month.

    Because the alternative for using surface water is to use precious groundwater, FOLA has suggested a compromise proposal which includes construction of storage ponds in the north shore to collect stormwater for use when needed.

    In a letter to the District, Jim Thomas has summarized FOLA’s objections and urged the District to focus attention on conservation projects, storage capabilities and re-distribution of existing re-use water such as that from the Conserve II project. The letter also made it clear that we should not consider any surface water uses because of the impacts on aquatic systems. (The District has already mandated major withdrawals from St. Johns River and the Oklawaha).

    This is the beginning of a major water war Thomas stated, and we need firm, science-based policies in place to preserve our aquatic systems. Concerned citizens are urged to write letters of objection to Kirby Green, Executive Director, SJRWMD, PO Box 1429, Palatka, FL 32178-1429, to sign petitions that will be forwarded to the Board of Governors (petitions available at fola.org), and to attend the meeting in Palatka on May 8.