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LOER Initiative Alternative Storage/Disposal of Excess Surface Water

LOER Initiative Alternative Storage/Disposal of Excess Surface Water. Water Resources Advisory Committee Meeting January 5, 2006. Harkley Thornton Governing Board Member and Benita Whalen, P.E. Director, Okeechobee Service Center South Florida Water Management District.

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LOER Initiative Alternative Storage/Disposal of Excess Surface Water

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  1. LOER InitiativeAlternative Storage/Disposal of Excess Surface Water Water Resources Advisory Committee MeetingJanuary 5, 2006 Harkley ThorntonGoverning Board MemberandBenita Whalen, P.E.Director, Okeechobee Service CenterSouth Florida Water Management District

  2. Alternative Water Storage/Disposal • Storage/Disposal of Excess Surface Water • High water levels in Lake Okeechobee and excess freshwater in Estuaries: store/dispose of water as an alternative to in-lake storage SURFACE: public, private, and tribal lands SUBSURFACE: ASR and deep well injection • Ecological improvements • Previous Drawdown Projects – Lake Istokpoga (2001) and Tohopekaliga (2003)

  3. Lake Toho Drawdown

  4. Background Information • Lake Okeechobee 730 sq miles (467,000 acres) • Watershed 5,500 sq miles (3.45 million acres) • Pasture 1 million acres (30% of watershed) • LO TP TMDL 140 metric tons (2015) Average Annual 450 - 550 metric tons

  5. Alternative Water Storage/Disposal

  6. Background Information CERP LOWP - Surface Water Storage 250,000 ac-ft (2014) - ASR Wells 200 @ 5 mgd (2030) 200 wells*5 mgd*365 days/yr*.134 ft3/gal*ac-ft/43560 ft3 = 1.15 million ac-ft/yr e.g. 287,500 acres @ 4 ft depth or 575,000 acres @ 2 ft depth (neglecting ET & assuming no flow through)

  7. Water Storage/Disposal on Public, Private, and Tribal Lands • Two assessments underway (Northern watershed & Southern watershed) • Short-term feasibility of utilizing public, private, and tribal lands for storage • Public lands phase (complete) – Federal, SFWMD, FDEP/TIITF, FDOT, cities, counties • Deliverables • List of potential water storage sites, ranked by maximum potential volume of storage • Identification of (for each site) total available acres, water depth and volume, types of facilities (with minimal site alterations)

  8. Water Retention Assessment – North and South Study Areas

  9. Water Storage on Public Lands – Northern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee.

  10. Water Storage on Public Lands – Northern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee.

  11. Water Storage on Public Lands – Northern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee. *Item under consideration at January 2006 Governing Board meeting.

  12. Water Storage on Public Lands – Northern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee.

  13. Water Storage on Public Lands – Northern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee. Assuming various depths as identified by consultant over this effective acreage, potential storage volume is approximately 127,356 acre-feet (approximately 0.3 feet equivalent Lake Okeechobee depth).

  14. Northern Watershed Assessment Results

  15. Water Storage on Public Lands – Southern Watershed Assessment Results The following is a list of potential water storage sites on public lands in the south watershed area of Lake Okeechobee. Assuming 2 foot depth over this effective acreage, potential storage volume is approximately 358,736 acre-feet (approximately 0.8 feet equivalent Lake Okeechobee depth).

  16. Southern Watershed Assessment Results

  17. World Wildlife Fund Project Background Information • Formed Everglades Friendly Beef Steering Committee • January 2003 by WWF and 6 ranchers • Goal to identify opportunities that are: • Voluntary and economically beneficial to producers; • Contribute to restoration of Lake O (above & beyond current BMPs), estuaries and Everglades ecosystem • Received funding from SFWMD and FDACS to conduct an assessment of “on-ranch” water management alternatives

  18. Examples of on-ranch WMA • Cascading system of control structures providing retention/detention across improved pasture • Wetland re-hydration • Tailwater recovery system to collect grove-sod runoff for reuse • Wetland creation system to “polish” stormwater runoff from improved pasture, via gravity flow through • Minor above-ground impoundment (reservoir) to store and treat runoff from improved pasture.

  19. The Fundamental Shift • From (cost sharing BMP installation) • Water storage projects (BMPs in general) • Cost of ranch production • Passive maintenance and management • To (paying for services) • Water storage projects • Source of enhanced revenue – make ranching more economically viable when compared with other current alternatives • Active maintenance and management

  20. WWF Initiative • Pilot Projects (3 years) • Implement practices and monitoring on some ranches • Learn while doing • Design long term program (agreements, payments, permits, etc.) • Conservation Innovation Grant ($1 million) • WWF ($300,000) • SFWMD and FDACS transferred funding ($500,000) to local Soil and Water Conservation Districts for projects

  21. Conservation Innovation Grant: Pilot Projects • Four pilot projects currently under design • On-ranch water storage & treatment for phosphorus and flow reductions (range of 2,000 to 10,000-acre ranches) • Construction complete Spring 2006 • Develop pay-for-performance incentive program for ranchers based on water stored & P-removed • Estimated performance (total from four pilot projects) • Approximately 2.2 metric tons of phosphorus reduction per year • Approximately 6,200 acre-feet of water storage

  22. Watershed Current Projects The following is a list of ongoing / complete projects in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee.

  23. The following is a list of projects to be constructed in the north watershed area of Lake Okeechobee.

  24. Water Storage/Disposal Projects Long-term, non-CERP projects

  25. Water Storage/Disposal Projects Emergency (temporary, non-CERP) projects and Interim (CERP) projects

  26. Water Storage/Disposal:Next Steps • Conduct Private and Tribal Lands Surface Water Storage Assessments, Phase II (landowners of parcels greater than 640 acres: lands account for approximately 750,000 acres or 27% of northern watershed) • Complete/refine project cost estimates & complete cost effectiveness ($/ac-ft) evaluation • Continue to investigate additional surface water storage sites • Additional CIG/WWF pilot projects are under consideration

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