PRESS
RELEASE: June 10, 2015
CONTACT: Governor's Press Office, 850-717-9282, media@eog.myflorida.com
YOUNGSTOWN, Fla. – Today, Florida
Governor Rick Scott, DEP Secretary Jon Steverson, FWC Executive Director
Nick Wiley and staff from the Northwest Florida Water Management District
celebrated progress on the Williford Spring Restoration Project.
Governor Scott toured
Williford Spring and its surrounding recreational area, the site of the
District’s $1.66 million restoration project to improve water quality and
clarity, improve shoreline protection and enhance protective public access to
the spring.
Governor
Scott said, “The Williford Spring project is more proof that we are committed
to restoring Florida’s springs and providing families and our visitors with
beautiful places to visit. I would like to thank everyone involved in bringing this important project together and for helping Florida
build on our success in protecting our natural resources and continuing to make
Florida the best place in the country to live.”
Funding for
the project includes more than $377,000 in funding from the nearly $37
million in springs funding approved by Governor Scott during the 2013-2014
Fiscal Year. The project also includes nearly $70,000 in funding from FWC.
Over the
last two years, Governor Scott championed record funding for Florida’s springs,
partnering with local communities to leverage $35 million in grants into $106
million in
springs projects.
“This
project is a perfect example of one of the 37 important restoration and water
quality improvement projects we’ve been able to fund over the past two years,
thanks to the support of Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature,” said DEP
Secretary Jon Steverson. “The health of our springs is vital to our state’s
future, and I look forward to working with the Governor, Legislature and our
restoration partners to continue to protect them.”
The Governor’s proposed
budget for Fiscal Year 2014-2015 includes $50 million in Fiscal Year 2015-2016,
and more than $1.6 billion over 20 years for springs restoration.
“The Williford Spring
project, like similar projects at Pitt and Sylvan springs, would not have
happened without support from Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature,” said
George Roberts, Chair of the Northwest Florida Water Management District
Governing Board. “We take great pride in this restoration effort and we will
continue to find more ways to preserve and protect the water resources in
northwest Florida.”
“The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is proud to partner with DEP and
the NFWMD to restore these special places for the benefit of all
Floridians,” said FWC Executive Director Nick Wiley. “We applaud the
Governor and the Legislature for supporting a true win-win project that helps
people enjoy beautiful springs while protecting important habitat for fish and
wildlife.”
Through the Williford
Spring restoration project, the District will improve the water quality and
clarity of the spring by removing sediment from the spring pool, restoring
native vegetation along the springbank that will help catch run-off and
sediment, and constructing areas to capture and treat stormwater to improve
water quality before it enters the spring.
The
restoration project will expand on the District’s continued protection of
various springs along Econfina Creek, including the recently completed project
to restore and enhance Pitt and Sylvan springs.
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