FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 29, 2012
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT -- SPRINGS PROTECTION
Setting the Record Straight on the Tampa
Bay Times’ Series on Florida’s Springs
CLAIM: “A state-sponsored effort to save [Florida’s] springs… ended last year
under Gov. Rick Scott.”
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:
The Department of Environmental Protection has
adopted more water quality criteria in the last year than any single year in
the previous decade.
- The
Department is on schedule for a reduction of 9,000 pounds of phosphorus in Lake
Jesup in two years, which is 50 percent of the plan’s targeted goal.
- In
addition, 78 percent of nitrogen and 87 percent of phosphorus reductions
for Lake Harney, Lake Monroe, Smith
Canal and Middle St. Johns River plan will be achieved through five years.
Over the past two years, under the leadership of
Governor Scott, the Department has more than doubled the amount of money spent
in the previous three fiscal years on the state’s springs.
The Department, under Secretary Herschel
Vinyard, has committed $11 million to projects and monitoring to specifically improve
water quality to springs:
-
In
the Santa Fe River basin, the Department committed $900,000 to provide rural
farmers advanced technology to improve fertilizing and irrigation practices in
order to keep more than 1 million pounds of nitrogen from entering the Santa Fe
River and its associated springs and save 670 million gallons per year of water
use.
- Another
$300,000 will be spent on directing wastewater away from Silver Springs’ main
boil and to an advanced wastewater treatment facility 10 miles away, $400,000
to take Silver River State Park off of a septic system and onto city sewer and
an additional $700,000 that is dedicated to help Silver Springs.
-
The
Department is also spending $1.1 million to improve King’s Bay in Citrus County
to eliminate 750,000 gallons a day of spray field disposal, which currently
harms the associated springs.
CLAIM: “$8
million of [the $11 million in funding] went for a statewide pollution
monitoring system — not for restoration, outreach or research.”
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:
The $8 million pollution monitoring system will
monitor the health of the springs wirelessly in real time. It will give Department scientists the data necessary to evaluate and take action on the problems our
springs are facing. The Department’s scientists require the most up-to-date
information to continue creating solutions.
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