PRESS RELEASE: May 22, 2015
DEP CONTINUES RESTORATION OF UPPER OCKLAWAHA BASIN
~DEP
hosts meeting to discuss pollutant sources and discuss reduction strategies~
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.
|