By Ron Littlepage
on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010
for the Florida Times Union/ Jacksonville.com
It was one of those perfunctory gatherings: a ribbon-cutting ceremony that drew city officials, representatives of the companies that worked on the project and a few interested citizens.
But this one, Tuesday morning under a bright, blue sky, was significant.
First, it celebrated the renaming of the city's park and boat ramps at Sisters Creek on the Intracoastal Waterway to honor Jim King, who died last year.
During his long career in the Florida House and Senate, King worked to protect the St. Johns River and its tributaries, and to improve public access to the area's wonderful waterways.
The Sisters Creek park was a special place for King as he was the "voice" of the annual Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament, headquartered at the park, announcing the results - always with humor - as anglers brought fish to be weighed in, small and large.
"I'm not sure where we would be without his advocacy," Mayor John Peyton said.
Peyton invited King's widow, Linda, to the podium. "Jim is smiling," she said. "He's happy to see you here."
And she reminded those present that one of King's unfulfilled goals, having a specialty license plate featuring the St. Johns, which would raise money for the river, will be considered by the Legislature this spring. It needs to pass.
The occasion also marked the official opening of a new kayak and canoe launch at the park.
It's a bit of a hike, especially when carrying a kayak, from the parking area to the launch, which some paddlers won't like, and boarding a kayak from a floating dock isn't the most graceful of actions, but those who use the new launch will have immediate access to the Hannah Mills area - a spectacular expanse of marsh islands and tidal creeks.
Peyton nailed it when he said it's better access to our natural areas that will attract people to live here, and when a city is competing for jobs, quality of life is high on the list.
"If we don't fund our government, these are the things that get cut," Peyton said. "The public parks system gets the short end of the stick. Let's continue to find the dollars to make investments like this."
Much of the focus on access to our waterways has been on major projects, such as the $23 million the City Council approved recently to make improvements to the Southbank Riverwalk, Friendship Fountain and Metropolitan Park.
But these smaller projects are just as critical, and they are getting done.
For instance, a dangerous boat launch at Cedar Point has been replaced; an easy-to-use kayak and canoe launch at Pumpkin Hill opens that area to paddling; and kayaks and canoes can launch at parks on Castaway and Dutton islands.
"We have the ingredients here," Peyton said, to make Jacksonville a better place to live.
Hopefully, there will be more perfunctory ribbon-cuttings in the near future.
ron.littlepage@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4284
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/columnists/ron_littlepage/2010-02-25/story/jacksonville_making_progress_on_access_to_waterwa
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
My first trip to Blue Springs
A friend and I took our first trip down to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees. We saw quite a few and had a great time. Here are just four of the pictures that we took.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Great Blue Heron & Manatees in Blue Springs
Photos by the SJRA Executive Director, Mark Middlebrook. More of his photography can be found at the La Florida link in the sidebar.
Upcoming Board Meeting Public Notice
Public Notice
~~~~~~~~~~~
The St. Johns River Alliance (SJRA) will be holding a regular
session board meeting on Monday, February 22, 2010 from 1-
3pm. The meeting will be held in the Brevard County
Government Complex in Building C on the 2nd floor. The address
is: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.
At the time this notice is being prepared, the SJRA staff expects the
agenda of its meeting to include the following topics:
1. A presentation on “Climate Change & Florida’s Coastal Resources- expected
impacts & solutions for adaptation” by Dr. Karl Havens,
member of the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council and Director of
the Florida Sea Grant Program
2. A report by Don Brandes regarding the St. Johns River Water
Management District’s water conservation planning efforts
3. An update on the 2010 River Summit
4. A Discussion of general operating and financial business
~~~~~~~~~~~
The St. Johns River Alliance (SJRA) will be holding a regular
session board meeting on Monday, February 22, 2010 from 1-
3pm. The meeting will be held in the Brevard County
Government Complex in Building C on the 2nd floor. The address
is: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.
At the time this notice is being prepared, the SJRA staff expects the
agenda of its meeting to include the following topics:
1. A presentation on “Climate Change & Florida’s Coastal Resources- expected
impacts & solutions for adaptation” by Dr. Karl Havens,
member of the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council and Director of
the Florida Sea Grant Program
2. A report by Don Brandes regarding the St. Johns River Water
Management District’s water conservation planning efforts
3. An update on the 2010 River Summit
4. A Discussion of general operating and financial business
Huguenot Debris to be cleaned up by May??
Huguenot debris cleanup could start, finish before May
A stretch at Huguenot was closed when scraps were found in the sand.
By Steve Patterson
on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010
for Jacksonville.com
A stretch of Jacksonville beachfront that closed last year because of sharp metal debris could be cleaned and open before big crowds - or sea turtles - return this spring.
The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on approving an agreement among city, state and federal agencies to remove debris at Huguenot Memorial Park by May 1. Three committees have approved it already.
"This for us is the best kind of possible scenario under the circumstances," said Nathan Rezeau, a division chief in the city's recreation department who oversees the park.
Cleanup work at the park off Heckscher Drive could start next month, Rezeau said.
The finish date was picked to get machinery off the beach before nesting season starts for sea turtles, which are federally protected as a threatened or endangered species.
But it also would free up beach space during warm holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Independence Day, when visitor traffic peaks.
An oceanfront area a few hundred feet north of the St. Johns River jetties has been closed since summer because visitors kept stepping on pieces of half-buried metal.
Those turned out to be military scrap including pipes, knives, shell casings, dog tags and cigarette lighters marked with names of Navy ships that were at Mayport Naval Station in the 1950s and '60s.
It's not clear how the items reached the park, which is on the opposite side the river from Mayport, base spokesman Bill Austin said.
The city and Navy would both pay for the cleanup, budgeted at just under $80,000.
The work would target an area about 400 feet long and 200 feet wide, with contractors scooping up the top 4 feet of sand and spreading it on the shore to dry.
After workers pulled out any big pieces of metal, a machine for sifting sand would sort through the pile and the cleaned sand would be spread back where it was excavated. Metal would be dumped in big containers and held until it can be recycled or hauled to a landfill.
Workers will sort about 4,400 cubic yards of sand, which is expected to take about 13 days.
Besides handling the metal recycling and disposal, the Navy is supposed to reimburse the city for up to $20,000 of the cleanup costs.
The rest of the cost, nearly $60,000, falls on the city. But the work plan, which was negotiated partly with Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, lets the city use money it was already obligated to pay as a penalty for an environmental violation at the city's Trail Ridge landfill. That arrangement, called an "in-kind" payment, represented 50 percent more than the original landfill fine but was still a savings to the city, said Mike Fitzsimmons, a state environmental protection manager.
steve.patterson@jacksonville. com, (904) 359-4263
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-07/story/huguenot_debris_cleanup_could_start_finish_before_may
A stretch at Huguenot was closed when scraps were found in the sand.
By Steve Patterson
on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010
for Jacksonville.com
A stretch of Jacksonville beachfront that closed last year because of sharp metal debris could be cleaned and open before big crowds - or sea turtles - return this spring.
The City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on approving an agreement among city, state and federal agencies to remove debris at Huguenot Memorial Park by May 1. Three committees have approved it already.
"This for us is the best kind of possible scenario under the circumstances," said Nathan Rezeau, a division chief in the city's recreation department who oversees the park.
Cleanup work at the park off Heckscher Drive could start next month, Rezeau said.
The finish date was picked to get machinery off the beach before nesting season starts for sea turtles, which are federally protected as a threatened or endangered species.
But it also would free up beach space during warm holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Independence Day, when visitor traffic peaks.
An oceanfront area a few hundred feet north of the St. Johns River jetties has been closed since summer because visitors kept stepping on pieces of half-buried metal.
Those turned out to be military scrap including pipes, knives, shell casings, dog tags and cigarette lighters marked with names of Navy ships that were at Mayport Naval Station in the 1950s and '60s.
It's not clear how the items reached the park, which is on the opposite side the river from Mayport, base spokesman Bill Austin said.
The city and Navy would both pay for the cleanup, budgeted at just under $80,000.
The work would target an area about 400 feet long and 200 feet wide, with contractors scooping up the top 4 feet of sand and spreading it on the shore to dry.
After workers pulled out any big pieces of metal, a machine for sifting sand would sort through the pile and the cleaned sand would be spread back where it was excavated. Metal would be dumped in big containers and held until it can be recycled or hauled to a landfill.
Workers will sort about 4,400 cubic yards of sand, which is expected to take about 13 days.
Besides handling the metal recycling and disposal, the Navy is supposed to reimburse the city for up to $20,000 of the cleanup costs.
The rest of the cost, nearly $60,000, falls on the city. But the work plan, which was negotiated partly with Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, lets the city use money it was already obligated to pay as a penalty for an environmental violation at the city's Trail Ridge landfill. That arrangement, called an "in-kind" payment, represented 50 percent more than the original landfill fine but was still a savings to the city, said Mike Fitzsimmons, a state environmental protection manager.
steve.patterson@jacksonville. com, (904) 359-4263
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-07/story/huguenot_debris_cleanup_could_start_finish_before_may
Dr. Karl Havens to speak at upcoming SJRA board meeting
Florida cities need to get ready for rising seas, researcher says
Climate change puts a new spin on an annual beach-science meeting.
By Steve Patterson
on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010
for Jacksonville.com
INDIALANTIC - Florida cities can protect themselves now from hurricane damage by getting ready for sea levels to rise someday, a coastal expert told beach engineers meeting Friday.
Planning for higher water levels will make coastal towns less vulnerable to storm surges, even if long-term forecasts about climate changes and rising seas prove to be wrong, said Karl Havens, director of the Florida Sea Grant program, a partnership between the federal government and Florida's university system.
"So much of what we're doing with communities overlaps," said Havens, whose program finances coastal research and advises local governments on coastal issues.
He spoke at the National Conference on Beach Preservation Technology, a yearly meeting for engineers and others involved in controlling beach erosion.
Sea levels have historically increased slowly. But many scientists' predictions of climate change caused by man-made pollution include significant increases in ocean levels.
Many communities have been uncertain how, if at all, to respond. That has been complicated by uncertainty within the predictions themselves and by the vocal criticism of skeptics.
The St. Johns River Alliance, an organization that includes Jacksonville and other governments along the St. Johns River, has scheduled Havens to speak to its leaders about possible choices.
In an interview after the conference, Havens said he believed there were some politically easy steps that could help parts of Northeast Florida.
He singled out as an example the use of "living shorelines" to control erosion on riverbanks, which would be expected to increase as water levels rose. Rather than building bulkheads, in many areas Florida Sea Grant recommends adding oyster shells and cultivating riverbank grasses that help stabilize undeveloped shorelines.
Living shorelines are meant to absorb waves, while Havens said bulkheads simply shift the force of the water over to the nearest unprotected property.
A study published last year by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sea-level researcher seemed to suggest many Florida communities would try to protect developed areas if sea levels rose significantly. In doing so, however, they would shift onto taxpayers rising costs of maintaining roads and sewers that weren't built for the higher water level.
Preserving existing wetlands and undeveloped coastal areas is often cited as another simple way communities can minimize the effects of higher water.
Havens said there's a wide gap in how Florida's communities have addressed sea-level issues, with Miami-Dade County and a few others actively planning while others seem overwhelmed.
In some cases, nature has forced the issue. One presentation at Friday's conference was made by an engineer who designed a beach parking lot on pilings in Walton County in the Panhandle - after storms wiped out traditional parking lots at that site three times.
Sea Grant programs along the Gulf Coast have pooled money with Florida's program to jointly train their employees how to address the subject with local officials, he said.
steve.patterson@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4263
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-06/story/florida_cities_need_to_get_ready_for_rising_seas_researcher_says
Climate change puts a new spin on an annual beach-science meeting.
By Steve Patterson
on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010
for Jacksonville.com
INDIALANTIC - Florida cities can protect themselves now from hurricane damage by getting ready for sea levels to rise someday, a coastal expert told beach engineers meeting Friday.
Planning for higher water levels will make coastal towns less vulnerable to storm surges, even if long-term forecasts about climate changes and rising seas prove to be wrong, said Karl Havens, director of the Florida Sea Grant program, a partnership between the federal government and Florida's university system.
"So much of what we're doing with communities overlaps," said Havens, whose program finances coastal research and advises local governments on coastal issues.
He spoke at the National Conference on Beach Preservation Technology, a yearly meeting for engineers and others involved in controlling beach erosion.
Sea levels have historically increased slowly. But many scientists' predictions of climate change caused by man-made pollution include significant increases in ocean levels.
Many communities have been uncertain how, if at all, to respond. That has been complicated by uncertainty within the predictions themselves and by the vocal criticism of skeptics.
The St. Johns River Alliance, an organization that includes Jacksonville and other governments along the St. Johns River, has scheduled Havens to speak to its leaders about possible choices.
In an interview after the conference, Havens said he believed there were some politically easy steps that could help parts of Northeast Florida.
He singled out as an example the use of "living shorelines" to control erosion on riverbanks, which would be expected to increase as water levels rose. Rather than building bulkheads, in many areas Florida Sea Grant recommends adding oyster shells and cultivating riverbank grasses that help stabilize undeveloped shorelines.
Living shorelines are meant to absorb waves, while Havens said bulkheads simply shift the force of the water over to the nearest unprotected property.
A study published last year by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sea-level researcher seemed to suggest many Florida communities would try to protect developed areas if sea levels rose significantly. In doing so, however, they would shift onto taxpayers rising costs of maintaining roads and sewers that weren't built for the higher water level.
Preserving existing wetlands and undeveloped coastal areas is often cited as another simple way communities can minimize the effects of higher water.
Havens said there's a wide gap in how Florida's communities have addressed sea-level issues, with Miami-Dade County and a few others actively planning while others seem overwhelmed.
In some cases, nature has forced the issue. One presentation at Friday's conference was made by an engineer who designed a beach parking lot on pilings in Walton County in the Panhandle - after storms wiped out traditional parking lots at that site three times.
Sea Grant programs along the Gulf Coast have pooled money with Florida's program to jointly train their employees how to address the subject with local officials, he said.
steve.patterson@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4263
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-02-06/story/florida_cities_need_to_get_ready_for_rising_seas_researcher_says
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
License Plate Update
The St. Johns River Alliance has been working with the Florida House and Senate to get a St. Johns River license plate bill passed. Today was another step in the right direction when the House Economic Development & Affairs Policy Council unanimously approved the bill. The bill has now passed through two House committees and has been released to the House Calendar. No word yet on the Senate side, but things are looking better this year. Proceeds received from the license plate sales could help the SJRA work on river education, outreach and conservation.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Water supply reactions mixed
Local residents offer opinion following Thursday meeting
By TONY BRITT
tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
Sunday, January 31, 2010
GAINESVILLE — A Thursday night meeting to address declining water levels in the Floridan Aquifer and a water supply plan to address the change is receiving mixed reviews from area residents.
The meeting, which was held at the Alachua County Health Department, was designed to give the public information about the planning process that is being utilized to formulate a water supply plan. The Upper Santa Fe River Basin is experiencing decreasing flow levels and some officials and residents believe there maybe a connection between the two problems.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Suwannee River Water and the St. Johns River Water Management districts, was held Thursday night to allow more interaction from the general public in the water supply planning process.
“In the Upper Santa Fe River Basin, we’re still in the subgroup process and looking at the modeling, conservation, alternative water supplies and all of those components are being developed right now,” said Suwannee River Water Management District senior hydrogeologist Carlos Herd.
The due date for the water supply plan is Dec. 12.
Water management district officials are evaluating whether water from the Floridan Aquifer is now going to counties east of the Columbia County area and basing their plans on projected water usage for the next 20 years.
“That would happen if all the projected demands were taken from groundwater in 2030,” Herd said of the water shift. “We’re trying to figure out when that would start happening, and if it’s happening now, we don’t have the tools that we can say that’s happening now. We have seen some declines in flows in our rivers in the Upper Santa Fe, but we’re still evaluating that data also.”
Four Rivers Audubon member and Lake City resident Frank Sedmera attended the meeting and said he was pleased to get the information that officials provided.
“I think they did as good of a job as could have been done with civilians who are not scientists who really don’t understand much about the technical part of this,” he said. “They did a wonderful job of trying to and in many cases succeeding, in getting people to better understand what we’re depending on to try to predict the future. It’s very difficult to predict the future with that many variables.”
Save Our Suwannee secretary and spokesperson Annette Long said she still has concerns about the studies.
“The concepts they presented were very complex and presented in a really short time,” she said. “I’m afraid that from the tenor of the people from the St. Johns Water Management District, that they are on the track to want to issue more permits. It sounds like there is going to be a lot of pressure from the utilities in the big cities and it’s all about money. I’m afraid it’s going to be an uphill battle and fear that if we want to protect our part of the Suwannee and Santa Fe water sheds that are starting to move toward Jacksonville already, we’re going to have to be the ones that do it. We’ll have to do without in our area and maybe move water from other parts of the Suwannee District to that part of the district. That’s my worst fear.”
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2010/01/31/news/doc4b64ef8587578607710459.txt
By TONY BRITT
tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
Sunday, January 31, 2010
GAINESVILLE — A Thursday night meeting to address declining water levels in the Floridan Aquifer and a water supply plan to address the change is receiving mixed reviews from area residents.
The meeting, which was held at the Alachua County Health Department, was designed to give the public information about the planning process that is being utilized to formulate a water supply plan. The Upper Santa Fe River Basin is experiencing decreasing flow levels and some officials and residents believe there maybe a connection between the two problems.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Suwannee River Water and the St. Johns River Water Management districts, was held Thursday night to allow more interaction from the general public in the water supply planning process.
“In the Upper Santa Fe River Basin, we’re still in the subgroup process and looking at the modeling, conservation, alternative water supplies and all of those components are being developed right now,” said Suwannee River Water Management District senior hydrogeologist Carlos Herd.
The due date for the water supply plan is Dec. 12.
Water management district officials are evaluating whether water from the Floridan Aquifer is now going to counties east of the Columbia County area and basing their plans on projected water usage for the next 20 years.
“That would happen if all the projected demands were taken from groundwater in 2030,” Herd said of the water shift. “We’re trying to figure out when that would start happening, and if it’s happening now, we don’t have the tools that we can say that’s happening now. We have seen some declines in flows in our rivers in the Upper Santa Fe, but we’re still evaluating that data also.”
Four Rivers Audubon member and Lake City resident Frank Sedmera attended the meeting and said he was pleased to get the information that officials provided.
“I think they did as good of a job as could have been done with civilians who are not scientists who really don’t understand much about the technical part of this,” he said. “They did a wonderful job of trying to and in many cases succeeding, in getting people to better understand what we’re depending on to try to predict the future. It’s very difficult to predict the future with that many variables.”
Save Our Suwannee secretary and spokesperson Annette Long said she still has concerns about the studies.
“The concepts they presented were very complex and presented in a really short time,” she said. “I’m afraid that from the tenor of the people from the St. Johns Water Management District, that they are on the track to want to issue more permits. It sounds like there is going to be a lot of pressure from the utilities in the big cities and it’s all about money. I’m afraid it’s going to be an uphill battle and fear that if we want to protect our part of the Suwannee and Santa Fe water sheds that are starting to move toward Jacksonville already, we’re going to have to be the ones that do it. We’ll have to do without in our area and maybe move water from other parts of the Suwannee District to that part of the district. That’s my worst fear.”
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2010/01/31/news/doc4b64ef8587578607710459.txt
Water supply may run low earlier than thought
Water management district officials say Marion no longer expected to have sufficient groundwater to meet the demand in 2030
By Fred Hiers
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Marion County's luck in having enough groundwater to not need alternative sources is expected to soon run dry.
St. Johns River Water Management District officials said during a Thursday planning meeting that most of the area, which has been designated as having enough groundwater to meet 2030 population demands, probably won't be on that list any longer when the water agency finishes its water supply report and recommendations this year.
That means counties like Marion and Alachua will have to make plans as to where they will get the water they will need some future day, other than tapping into more groundwater sources.
"To them, it's going to make a big difference," St. Johns River Water Management District project manager David Hornsby said, when discussing how utilities will have to change strategies.
For the past seven years, the water agency tagged seven counties in its district - which included Marion - as "potentially" not being able to meet 2030 water demands using groundwater without doing unacceptable harm to water resources and related environment.
The alternative designation, which is more severe, is to be in a priority water resource caution area. That means the area's proposed water sources would for certain not meet water demand needs without doing harm.
About half the water district's counties currently fall in that category.
Once a utility area has the harsher designation, the water agency determines the maximum amount of groundwater it would be allowed to siphon and the date it is expected to be reached.
From then on, the water agency decides how much water the utility is required to get from alternative sources, such as lakes, rivers, desalination or conservation.
Marion County's lesser designation meant it has been able to avoid having to start drawing up plans for the water agency as to how it might one day have to get water after groundwater was limited.
Although population projections for Florida are down since the beginning of the recession, Hornsby said water agency staffers will almost certainly this summer recommend to their board that the seven counties be bumped into the more stringent category. The final report and recommendations will be submitted in December.
nnn
About 50 people were at the meeting on Thursday in Gainesville, which was hosted by the St. Johns River Management District and the Suwannee River Water Management District.
The meeting was one of many required by Florida law in determining the state's water assessment needs, and more will be held in coming months.
The water assessments are re-established every five years.
The issue of alternative water sources has been one of contention between Florida water agencies and environmentalists.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is already studying how much water utilities can draw from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers, something environmentalists oppose.
While requiring counties to start making plans for alternative water sources will require much more planning, many utilities say they saw the shift coming.
"These things are planned for years in advance," said Gainesville Regional Utilities spokesman Dan Jesse. "(GRU) is familiar with the trends. We plan for things like this all the time."
City of Ocala Utilities is also preparing for the groundwater tap to one day limit the city's draw. City officials have already told St. Johns they are interested in the Ocklawaha River as a potential water source if the water agency allows utilities to tap into the river.
Some people attending Thursday's meeting said they were concerned the water agencies weren't doing enough to protect Florida's waters, especially springs and rivers.
Kathy Cantwell of Gainesville said water agencies were too eager to designate surface waters as alternative water supplies.
"If you're taking surface water, isn't it going to impact the groundwater?" she said during the meeting's question and answer period. "We're all connected, so I don't know why it's an alternative."
Gainesville resident Bob Palmer complained that water agency measurements for ground and surface waters don't reflect that those levels have been decreasing for decades. He said healthy levels should be determined using water levels dating back many more decades before Florida's huge development.
But Hornsby said surface water won't be the only alternative source to be considered. Instead, water reclamation will be on the forefront, Hornsby said, and utilities will be urged to do all they could to reuse what water they have.
"We're going to ride that horse as hard as we can." Hornsby said.
Contact Fred Hiers at 352-867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20100130/ARTICLES/1301016/1402/NEWS?p=all&tc=pgall
By Fred Hiers
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Marion County's luck in having enough groundwater to not need alternative sources is expected to soon run dry.
St. Johns River Water Management District officials said during a Thursday planning meeting that most of the area, which has been designated as having enough groundwater to meet 2030 population demands, probably won't be on that list any longer when the water agency finishes its water supply report and recommendations this year.
That means counties like Marion and Alachua will have to make plans as to where they will get the water they will need some future day, other than tapping into more groundwater sources.
"To them, it's going to make a big difference," St. Johns River Water Management District project manager David Hornsby said, when discussing how utilities will have to change strategies.
For the past seven years, the water agency tagged seven counties in its district - which included Marion - as "potentially" not being able to meet 2030 water demands using groundwater without doing unacceptable harm to water resources and related environment.
The alternative designation, which is more severe, is to be in a priority water resource caution area. That means the area's proposed water sources would for certain not meet water demand needs without doing harm.
About half the water district's counties currently fall in that category.
Once a utility area has the harsher designation, the water agency determines the maximum amount of groundwater it would be allowed to siphon and the date it is expected to be reached.
From then on, the water agency decides how much water the utility is required to get from alternative sources, such as lakes, rivers, desalination or conservation.
Marion County's lesser designation meant it has been able to avoid having to start drawing up plans for the water agency as to how it might one day have to get water after groundwater was limited.
Although population projections for Florida are down since the beginning of the recession, Hornsby said water agency staffers will almost certainly this summer recommend to their board that the seven counties be bumped into the more stringent category. The final report and recommendations will be submitted in December.
nnn
About 50 people were at the meeting on Thursday in Gainesville, which was hosted by the St. Johns River Management District and the Suwannee River Water Management District.
The meeting was one of many required by Florida law in determining the state's water assessment needs, and more will be held in coming months.
The water assessments are re-established every five years.
The issue of alternative water sources has been one of contention between Florida water agencies and environmentalists.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is already studying how much water utilities can draw from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers, something environmentalists oppose.
While requiring counties to start making plans for alternative water sources will require much more planning, many utilities say they saw the shift coming.
"These things are planned for years in advance," said Gainesville Regional Utilities spokesman Dan Jesse. "(GRU) is familiar with the trends. We plan for things like this all the time."
City of Ocala Utilities is also preparing for the groundwater tap to one day limit the city's draw. City officials have already told St. Johns they are interested in the Ocklawaha River as a potential water source if the water agency allows utilities to tap into the river.
Some people attending Thursday's meeting said they were concerned the water agencies weren't doing enough to protect Florida's waters, especially springs and rivers.
Kathy Cantwell of Gainesville said water agencies were too eager to designate surface waters as alternative water supplies.
"If you're taking surface water, isn't it going to impact the groundwater?" she said during the meeting's question and answer period. "We're all connected, so I don't know why it's an alternative."
Gainesville resident Bob Palmer complained that water agency measurements for ground and surface waters don't reflect that those levels have been decreasing for decades. He said healthy levels should be determined using water levels dating back many more decades before Florida's huge development.
But Hornsby said surface water won't be the only alternative source to be considered. Instead, water reclamation will be on the forefront, Hornsby said, and utilities will be urged to do all they could to reuse what water they have.
"We're going to ride that horse as hard as we can." Hornsby said.
Contact Fred Hiers at 352-867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.
http://www.ocala.com/article/20100130/ARTICLES/1301016/1402/NEWS?p=all&tc=pgall
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