FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 4, 2013
GOVERNOR SCOTT ANNOUNCES NEARLY $37 MILLION INVESTMENT FOR SPRINGS PROJECTS
ORLANDO
– Today,
Governor Rick Scott announced ten water quality and water quantity springs
improvement projects. Funding for the spring projects was leveraged from a $10
million investment from the Florida Families First Budget, more than $1
million from Department of Environmental Protection funding, and
investments from local partners, for a total of nearly $37 million for springs
projects. The Governor made the announcement at Wekiwa Springs State Park,
where he was joined by water management officials, and state and local leaders.
The announcement comes on the heels of last weeks’ commitment of more than $130
million to restore estuaries in South Florida.
Governor
Scott said, “Today, we’re announcing important steps we’re taking to protect
and restore springs throughout the Sunshine State. Florida’s springs are
important to animal and plant life, and help support Florida’s booming tourism
industry. This $10 million investment from the Florida Families First Budget
will enable state and local partners to protect the quality and quantity of
water that flows from our springs. Our commitment to Florida families means
doing our part in supporting these natural treasures.”
“These projects will illustrate what can be accomplished when the
state invests wisely to support and supplement department and water management
district restoration programs,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard
Jr. “Much more needs to be done, but these projects can pave the way to
restoring some of our most iconic springs.”
Springs
that will receive funding for projects include Silver, Wekiwa, Rock,
Ichetucknee, Rainbow, Chassahowitzka, Homosassa, Weeki Wachee, Jackson Blue,
Williford, and springs along the Santa Fe and Suwannee Rivers and Kings
Bay.
“The
Northwest Florida Water Management District is grateful to Governor Scott, the
Florida Legislature and Secretary Vinyard for recognizing that the protection
of Florida’s springs is vital to ensuring a clean and sustainable supply of
water for our natural systems and our residents,” said Jon Steverson, Executive
Director of the Northwest Florida Water Management District. “We look forward
to an ongoing partnership as we continue to improve water quality and protect
water resources across Northwest Florida.”
“We
would like to thank the Governor and Legislature for supporting the important
springs restoration work within the northern portion of our District,” said
Robert Beltran, assistant executive director for the Southwest Florida Water
Management District. “The state’s funding together with the district’s funding
commitment will help ensure we continue the important task of restoring our
springs.”
“The
project dollars demonstrate the state’s commitment to achieving meaningful
springs protection,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive
Director Hans G. Tanzler III. “We appreciate the work of Governor Scott and the
Legislature to allocate the funds. We also appreciate the opportunity to
partner with DEP and local governments to move these projects forward and begin
to improve the health of our springs and their ecosystems.”
“We
are appreciative to Governor Scott and the Legislature for their leadership
appropriating springs funding which has successfully leveraged local funds
resulting in profound and lasting water quantity and quality protection for our
springs,” said Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board Chair Donald Quincey, Jr. “We are also
grateful to our local partners for their funding participation that helped to
bring funding to improve our springs.”
Silver
Springs – Ocala
Nearly
$2 million of state funding will be leveraged to fund a $12 million water
quality improvement project that will result in an estimated reduction of
663,000 pounds of nitrogen pollution per year (the equivalent of about 442,000
bags of common fertilizer) going into Silver Springs. These reductions will be
achieved by upgrading the City of Ocala Wastewater Facility #2, located near
Silver Springs, to advanced treatment, significantly improving the quality of
the effluent discharge of the facility.
Another
approximated $1.5 million in state funding will be directed to Phase II of a
more than $8 million water quality improvement and water quantity project that
will relocate a wastewater discharge from the Marion County Utilities Silver
Springs Shores facility, which is located near Silver Springs, and redirect it
for beneficial reuse at area golf courses, further away from the spring. The
relocation of the discharge will eliminate a nutrient source near the head of
the spring, and result in an estimated reduction of more than 40,000 pounds of
nitrogen entering the aquifer per year. It will also result in reduced water
consumption at area golf courses and improve the flow of Silver Springs.
Ichetucknee
Springs – Lake City
Nearly
$4 million in state funding will be invested to leverage $4.6 million water
quality improvement project that will improve the treatment of wastewater
currently routed to a sprayfield (south of Lake City) being used for disposal
and treatment by the City of Lake City’s wastewater treatment facility. This
will result in beneficial recharge to the aquifer with higher quality water. It
is estimated that this project will achieve a nitrogen reduction of 85 percent,
or an estimated reduction of 77,000 pounds of nitrogen per year from going into
the aquifer feeding the Ichetucknee Springs System.
Wekiwa
Springs Group – Orlando Region
Approximately
$700,000 in state funding will be leveraged for a more than $3.5 million
project to benefit Wekiwa Springs to construct a reclaimed water transmission
main to expand the City of Apopka's reclaimed water service into a high
recharge area for Wekiwa and Rock Spring, which feeds the Wekiva River.
Utilizing this reclaimed water reduces and eliminates discharges to the Wekiva
River system which resulting in an estimated reduction of 66,400 pounds of
nitrogen pollution per year to the Wekiva River while also providing spring
flow benefits through aquifer recharge.
Kings
Bay- Crystal River
Another
investment of nearly $500,000 will be leveraged for a nearly $1 million living
shoreline project to benefit Kings Bay in Hunters Cove. This project will
establish emergent vegetation and restore submerged grasses providing for a 15
percent reduction of nitrogen and 42 percent of phosphorus pollution. In
addition, a Three Sisters shoreline stabilization project will also be
constructed to prevent further sedimentation from the shoreline and surrounding
areas into the springs.
An
additional $500,000 in state funding will be leverages for a $2 million project
that will connect several plants, and upgrade waste water infrastructure, to
tie into the municipal waste water system that will result in an estimated load
reduction of 6,272 pounds of nitrogen per year. This project will generate
approximately 90,000 gallons per day of reclaimed water that will be used by an
area golf course, reducing their consumptive use and groundwater withdrawals.
Rainbow,
Kings Bay, Homosassa, Chassahowitzka, Weeki Wachee Springs Group – The Springs
Coast
This estimated $875,000 water quality improvement and water
quantity project will receive $375,000 in state funding. This project is a
cost-share initiative to work with area farmers to implement agricultural best
management practices (BMPs) within the Springs Coast region that will reduce
groundwater withdrawal quantities and/or nutrient loading to the Upper Floridan
Aquifer system, ultimately benefiting the springs systems. Agricultural
operations in the Springs Coast region include citrus groves, row crops,
blueberries, grains, field and container nurseries, and animal operations
(cow/calf, equine, poultry). This wide range of agricultural activities
presents the opportunity for a variety of technologies that can be used to
reduce groundwater use, such as weather stations, soil moisture sensors,
automatic timers and pumps, tailwater recovery ponds, and irrigation retrofits
using more efficient low-volume systems.
Suwannee
River Springs – Dixie County
More
than $1.5 million in state funding will be invested to leverage $2 million for
a water quantity improvement project that will restore natural flows of water
enabling an estimated 3 billion gallons per year of surface water storage to be
recharged into the aquifer improving spring flows along the middle Suwannee
River basin. The aquifer recharge benefits of this project will improve flow
and water quantity in many springs and supplement other efforts to ensure future
minimum flows and levels (MFLs) set for the Middle Suwannee River and
associated springs will be sustained.
Jackson Blue Spring - Marianna
More
than $750,000 in state funding will be leveraged for a more than $1.2 million
project to improve water quality and reduce water use demands in and around
Jackson Blue Spring. The project will enhance irrigation systems to reduce
water use by an estimated 7.5 million gallons per day. In addition,
improve fertilizer application technologies resulting in an estimated reduction
of 11,800 lbs/year of nitrogen fertilizer application for the average farm will
lead to a reduction of nutrients entering the groundwater.
Williford Spring – Youngstown
This nearly
$1.4 million restoration and water quality project will receive more than
$377,000 in state funding. This project will focus on sediment removal,
erosion control, spring bank and riparian restoration of Williford Spring. The
Northwest Florida Water Management District will improve water quality and
clarity in the spring by removing 200 cubic yards of sediment from the spring
pool, restoring native vegetation along the springbank that helps capture run-off
and sediment, and constructing areas to capture and treat stormwater to improve
water quality before it enters the spring. This will result in a 50-60 percent
reduction of sediment and other stormwater pollutants from entering the spring.
This restoration project will also help protect the spring for future
generations and at the same time improve public access to the spring.
Additional
Spring Investments
Along
with investing in projects, the Department set the very first basin management
action plan, or restoration plan, for springs in the Santa Fe River watershed
in 2012 and has provided $1.4 million to improve the nutrient controls for
agricultural practices in the area in addition to the $5.5 million for springs
projects within the Suwannee
River Water Management District in the Florida Families First budget.
Under
Governor Scott’s oversight, Florida’s water management districts are also
making progress in establishing minimum flows and levels for Florida’s springs.
These are designed to protect and restore spring flows and the natural systems
they support. The districts have set minimum flows and levels for 22 springs to
date and expect to set them for 49 more springs over the next two years, which
will more than double the cumulative efforts of the last decade.
For a map of the projects, click HERE.
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