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Chairman's Message
Daniel O'Keefe
Governing Board Chairman
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August marked yet another milestone in continuing efforts to improve water quality for the Everglades. For a full 20 years, growers in the vast farming region south of Lake Okeechobee, known as the Everglades Agricultural Area, have met annual requirements for reducing nutrients in water flowing from that region into the Everglades. Notably, the growers not only met the requirements, they averaged more than double the required reductions over the two-decade timeframe.
Improved farming techniques -- known as Best Management Practices, or BMPs -- are the tools used to achieve this. By targeting excess nutrients at the source, growers successfully minimize the amount of nutrients, such as phosphorus, flowing into South Florida's waterways. BMPs work in tandem with the District's 57,000 acres of treatment wetlands and, over the past two decades, have together prevented more than 4,860 metric tons of phosphorus from reaching the Everglades.
In other water quality progress, the District is moving forward with improvements to the Bolles East Canal, which connects two major canals south of Lake Okeechobee. When construction is complete, the canal upgrades will give water managers even more flexibility to move stormwater from the Everglades Agricultural Area into the treatment wetlands before sending it south into the Everglades.
Additionally, the District is moving ahead with early construction on the Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir. The construction contract approved this month for earthworks and site preparation is a critical first step for this water storage facility. District engineers designed the early construction activities to provide environmental benefits to the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary long before final completion of the massive reservoir.
This month we welcomed Sam Accursio of Homestead to the SFWMD Governing Board, following his appointment by Governor Rick Scott. Mr. Accursio represents Miami-Dade County and joins the Board in our ongoing work to protect, manage and improve South Florida's water resources.
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Do You "Know the Flow" in Your Neighborhood?
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Flood Control Is Everyone's Responsibility
South Florida's annual rainy season typically lasts from June through October, a five-month period that brings 70 percent of our regional rainfall in an average year. The rainy season can also bring flooding, which may occur when large amounts of rain fall over a short period of time or from a single heavy storm, tropical system or hurricane.
The South Florida Water Management District operates and maintains the regional water management system known as the Central and Southern Florida Project, which was authorized by Congress more than 60 years ago to protect residents and businesses from floods and droughts. This primary system of canals and natural waterways connects to community drainage districts and hundreds of smaller neighborhood systems to effectively manage floodwaters during heavy rain.
As a result of this interconnected drainage system, flood control in South Florida is a shared responsibility between the District, county and city governments, local drainage districts, homeowners associations and residents.
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Sept. 3 - 9 a.m.
WRAC Meeting
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Governing Board Meeting
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Sept. 10 - 5:15 p.m.
Tentative FY2016 Budget Hearing
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Sept. 22 - 5:15 p.m.
Final FY2016 Budget Hearing
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
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INTRODUCING WATER MATTERS
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Welcome to our new monthly newsletter!
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Many thanks to readers who completed our recent newsletter survey. Your feedback helped us plan
Water Matters, the South Florida Water Management District's new e-newsletter.
Water Matters will continue to highlight water news and SFWMD information from around our region. Topics regularly include Everglades restoration progress, regional flood protection, water conservation and outdoor recreation on our public lands.
You'll also find a photo gallery, Governing Board highlights from our Chairman and a calendar for upcoming meetings. Thanks for caring and learning more about South Florida's water resources!
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| EVERGLADES WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM MARKS 20 YEARS of SUCCESS |
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Everglades Agricultural Area consistently achieves phosphorus reduction goals
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For a milestone 20th year, water flowing from farmlands in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) achieved phosphorus reductions that significantly exceed those required by law.
Implementation of improved farming techniques, known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), produced a 79-percent phosphorus reduction in the 470,000-acre EAA farming region south of Lake Okeechobee for the Water Year 2015 monitoring period (May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015). The requirement is a 25-percent phosphorus reduction.
Over the program's 20-year compliance history, the overall average annual reduction from the implementation of BMPs is 56 percent, more than twice the required amount.
Read more ยป
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| ACCURSIO APPOINTED to GOVERNING BOARD |
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New Board member represents Miami-Dade County
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On July 28, Governor Rick Scott appointed Sam Accursio to one of the two Miami-Dade County seats on the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board.
Accursio is the owner of Sam S. Accursio & Sons Farms in Homestead. He also serves as the vice chair of the Agriculture Practices Advisory Board and is a member of the First National Bank of South Florida Board of Directors. His term on the SFWMD Governing Board will last through March 1, 2019.
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PUMPS SENT to ASSIST WEST COAST FLOODING RESPONSE
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District field crews were also on standby to assist
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Following a State of Emergency declaration by Governor Scott in early August, the South Florida Water Management District sent four pumps to support the Southwest Florida Water Management District's emergency response effort.
The portable pumps were available to help direct flood waters away from impacted areas on Florida's west coast.
Field crews were also ready to deploy if needed to areas in five impacted counties outside the SFWMD's boundaries: Dixie, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Taylor.
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The South Florida Water Management District is the oldest and largest of Florida's five regional water management districts. The SFWMD traces its roots back to 1949 when the Florida Legislature created the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District. The sole mission of the agency then was to manage the Central and Southern Florida Project, a massive flood control project authorized by the U.S. Congress the previous year.
In 1972, the Legislature passed the Florida Water Resources Act to create the modern system of water management districts. Along with a new name, the SFWMD got expanded responsibilities for water resource management and environmental protection.
Today, the District's mission is to manage and protect South Florida's water resources by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply.
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COME OUT AND PLAY at CREW!
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New pavilion enhances CREW Cypress Dome Trails
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The South Florida Water Management District in cooperation with the CREW Land & Water Trust recently completed construction of a new 20-by-40-foot pavilion at the CREW Cypress Dome Trails off Corkscrew Road in Collier County. Located near a group campsite, the pavilion will serve as a shelter from sun and rain for hikers, campers and scout troops who use the area for service projects and camping. It will also provide space for special events and a much-needed outdoor classroom for the CREW Trust's environmental education programs, which serve K-12 and college students, as well as adults.
The Cypress Dome Trails wind for 6 miles through scrub, pine flatwoods, oak hammocks and popash sloughs, allowing visitors to explore one of southwest Florida's premier natural areas. Public use opportunities at the Cypress Dome Trails include hiking, nature study, geocaching, camping, hunting, horseback riding and bicycling.
For more information about the CREW Cypress Dome Trails and pavilion, visit the CREW Land & Water Trust's website at
www.crewtrust.org. To learn more about recreation on SFWMD public lands, visit
www.sfwmd.gov/recreation.
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