DEP CONTINUES RESTORATION OF UPPER OCKLAWAHA BASIN

Press Release graphic

PRESS RELEASE: May 22, 2015

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

DEP CONTINUES RESTORATION OF UPPER OCKLAWAHA BASIN

~DEP hosts meeting to discuss pollutant sources and discuss reduction strategies~

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TAVARES, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is hosting a public meeting on May 28 in Tavares to further the water quality restoration of five water bodies in the Upper Ocklawaha Basin. These water bodies include Lake Harris, Palatlakaha River, Trout Lake, Lake Yale and Lake Carlton. Stakeholders and the public are invited to attend. DEP staff will be discussing the status of new total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) in the Upper Ocklawaha basin and pollutant sources and pollution-reduction strategies that will address the entire watershed.

“We have seen improvements in the Upper Ocklawaha basin, but there is more work to be done,” said Tom Frick, director of the Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration. “This meeting will focus on discussing pollution-reduction strategies and implementation efforts moving forward.”

In 2014 DEP adopted the second phase of a long-term restoration plan for the Upper Ocklawaha River. The restoration plan, known as a basin management action plan or BMAP, identifies strategies and projects that will be implemented over the next five years to improve the basin's water quality. Nutrient pollution, specifically excessive nitrogen and phosphorous, is the primary source impacting water quality in the lakes and streams in the Upper Ocklawaha Basin.  

For more information about the Upper Ocklawaha River restoration plan click here.

For meeting details, please click here.