September 2008, By RONALD L. LITTLEPAGE

The St. Johns River, always beautiful, especially sparkles on a fresh fall day when the temperature finally dips into the 50s after a long, hot summer.

Thursday was such a day in Jacksonville and the river, indeed, sparkled.

The sight was a vivid reminder of why we must protect the city’s greatest natural resource, the St. Johns River.

As you know, battle lines have been drawn over a proposal by the St. Johns River Water Management District to withdraw hundreds of millions of gallons of water a day from the river to quench the thirst of overdeveloped Central Florida.

One of the first fights in that battle is over a withdrawal permit the district wants to give Seminole County.

That permit has been challenged by the Riverkeeper organization and the city of Jacksonville. A hearing is set for next Wednesday.

It’s important that none of the parties challenging the permit get cold feet. Even if the challenge is dismissed, that order can be appealed, which would delay the permit.

Delay is important for two reasons.

First, the district is in the process of conducting a two-year scientific study of what the environmental effects of withdrawing water from the river would be.

Beginning to withdraw water before knowing that impact would be ridiculous.

Second, delay is important because the focus of the debate is beginning to shift more toward where it should have been all along - - conservation.

The argument for withdrawal is this: Our main source of potable water is the Floridan aquifer, which is stressed because of the demands of growth.

For growth to continue, more water will be needed and the aquifer can’t provide it.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” said Cynthia Barnett, a writer for Florida Trend and the author of Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern United States.

Barnett was one of the speakers at a forum on water issues sponsored by the Urban Land Institute that was held this week in Jacksonville.

Instead of finding more water to meet demand, a better approach is to reduce demand, and that can be done, Barnett said, even with a growing population.

A study just released by the U.S. Geological Survey backs that up.

The study found that between 2000 and 2005, water use in Florida decreased 9 percent while the state’s population increased 12 percent.

How could that happen? Conservation.

Barnett suggested a number of ways to reduce water use: low-flow toilets, use of gray water to flush toilets, more efficient ways of irrigating farmland, changing landscaping habits, better reuse of water.

“I would argue we are in control of this,” Barnett said. “A region can prosper while using less water.”

That’s certainly a better course than risking the health of the St. Johns River.

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A complex and vastly expensive schedule of projects to help the St. Johns River’s health in Northeast Florida is expected to be endorsed today by state and local agencies, utilities and representatives of business and citizen interests.

Taxpayers and utility customers will spend more than $600 million for projects that could take 15 years to complete, including more than $160 million in work that is already finished. But that figure understates the final cost of the effort, because prices for many projects simply aren’t known yet.

Not committing to such a schedule isn’t an option.

Help for the river is required by rules of the decades-old federal Clean Water Act. Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection is managing the plan, the first of its type in this part of the state.

“Monday is a key milestone,” said Greg Strong, the department’s Northeast Florida director. “Really what’s happening is, I think … stake-holders have put aside their personal interest for the greater good.”

The plan’s projects, from regulating fertilizer use to retiring failed septic tanks and upgrading sewage plants, would be carried out in communities along roughly 100 miles of the northern end of the river, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Mayport.

The work list is designed to cut roughly one-fifth of the nitrogen flowing into the river, although the amount varies by location. South of Black Creek in Clay County, the plan would also remove about one-sixth of the phosphorus. An oversupply of those chemicals has fed an eruption of algae, which harms grass beds and areas where fish live.

The state’s plan is essentially a quota system on pollution. It estimates how many tons of nitrogen and phosphorous the river can absorb and remain healthy, then allots those amounts among communities and some large companies.

The work plan depends on accurately projecting how much cleaner each project will make the river.

“The whole thing is about the science,” said Neal Shinkre, a St. Johns County utility manager who sat on a committee overseeing the plan. “The science has been questioned all the time, by all of us.”

Shinkre said he felt comfortable with the projections partly because the work plan has been examined and critiqued by a wide mix of groups that will have to carry the costs, including his own agency.

“I think our job is to make sure we’re fair, not only to ourselves, but to the public,” he said.

Parts of the pollution cutback are still being planned. Clay, St. Johns and Putnam counties, for example, are all expected to work with the St. Johns River Water Management District on algae-reduction projects that haven’t been sketched out yet.

Utilities and others that do more to clean up than they’re required can also sell credit for that extra work to another polluter. Jacksonville officials have been interested in buying credits from JEA, for example, hoping they could save millions of dollars on a series of expensive storm water projects.

By Steve Patterson, The Times-Union

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Work could wrap up today on a $7.3 million project that dredged dozens of canals on troubled Lake Griffin.The massive effort — one of the biggest ever handled by the Lake County Water Authority — started in 2005 and fell more than a year behind schedule. Officials might call it finished today if they tour the lake and find that contractor E.R. Jahna Industries completed all the requirements of the dredging.

Crews removed more than 340,000 cubic yards of muck and sand from the bottom of 43 canals around Lake Griffin, disposing that material at a former muck farm on Griffin’s north side. The goal is to improve access so that residents along the canals can get their boats to the lake even when water levels are low.

That will be important when the St. Johns River Water Management District moves ahead with plans to increase seasonal water fluctuations to improve the health of Lake Griffin. One concern, however, is that Griffin and other parts of the Harris Chain of Lakes are near historic lows, and experts say it could take from months to a year or more before this area gets enough rain to bring lakes back to normal levels.

Another concern is how the St. Johns water district will handle the proposed change in water fluctuations on Griffin.

Water levels among the Harris chain are controlled by a series of locks and dams. During summers, Griffin typically is dropped up to 9 inches to prevent flooding of waterfront properties during seasonal rains.

Now that the canals are lowered, officials want to allow Griffin to drop a foot or more. That could help the large water body recover by drying out large portions of mucky shoreline and helping establish aquatic plants essential for fish habitat.

That is the plan that prompted the canal-dredging idea more than three years ago. But now the St. Johns district has a plan to allow city officials in Apopka to withdraw up to 1.8 billion gallons of water a year from Lake Apopka.

If approved, the district would retain water in Lake Apopka by cutting in half the minimum flow of water that is allowed downstream through the Harris chain. Water also would be held back in another part of the Harris chain.

Water panels lock horns

The average water level on Lake Apopka would increase 2.2 inches. Several lakes downstream would drop by a third of an inch, and Lake Griffin would drop an average of 1.8 inches.

The water authority recently filed a legal petition with the St. Johns to force it to establish required minimum water flow and lake levels for Apopka and the Harris chain before allowing withdrawals.

“The Authority believes that in the absence of ‘Minimum Flows and Levels’ set by rule, decisions by the St. Johns River Water Management District concerning the management of Lake Apopka and the Harris Chain will not protect the resources of this very important area of Florida’s surface waters,” Mike Perry, executive director of the Lake water authority, wrote in a letter.

Restoration group worries

Others also fear what the St. Johns district’s proposals could do to the Harris chain.

Skip Goerner, vice chairman of the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, said costly projects to restore Lake Griffin and the rest of the Harris chain rely on historically based water flows that the district could change to allow the Apopka withdrawals. He fears that could impair restoration.

“We have spent millions of dollars and plan on spending millions more on restoration efforts using this criteria based on historic flows and water levels,” Goerner explained. “We’re very concerned about the withdrawals and [the district] holding water back from us.”

The water authority is trying to improve water quality on the Harris chain by building a $7.3 million nutrient-reduction facility along the shores of Apopka-Beauclair Canal that will remove algae-feeding phosphorus and other pollutants flowing in from Lake Apopka. If the St. Johns district restricts the minimum flow of water from Lake Apopka, it likely would decrease the nutrient-reduction facility’s effectiveness.

Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com

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St. Johns River from Green Cove Springs down to the Palatka area. There’s a great bite of croakers coming off the shell bars near Green Cove Springs. The Shands Bridge has been excellent, but sporadic like most summer fishing. Bream are biting all over the river and will only get better on this moon phase. Many are just hanging around the beds after the full moon last week. But should gather back together next week on the new moon. Catfish are biting in the Trout and Six-Mile creeks.

Area lakes (Lochloosa, Orange, Santa Fe): Bream fishing is good in Lochloosa. They’re off the beds and can be found up under the docks in 3 feet of water. Speckled perch are still being caught in the deeper areas of Santa Fe.

Rodman Reservoir area, the Bass fishing is especially good for schooling fish. The Oklawaha River is the best place for some excellent catfish action this week. Fish the deeper holes, especially near undercut banks.

Elsewhere: The catfish bite in the ponds at Hanna Park is good right now. Surprisingly, there was a report of croakers being caught on nightcrawlers this week.

By JIM SUTTON, The Times-Union

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Years from now, historians may look back upon the month recently concluded as the pivotal moment in the preservation and restoration of the Everglades.

Gov. Charlie Crist rocked the environmental world in late June when he announced a tentative deal with U.S. Sugar to purchase 187,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee.

The deal, at a potential cost of $1.75 billion, has rekindled hopes of re-establishing the natural flow of water from Lake O to the River of Grass — a process everyone agrees is vital to restoring the Everglades.

The state’s deal with U.S. Sugar has garnered much of the attention — and rightfully so.

However, another event — less publicized but highly important — also occurred in June that bodes extremely well for Everglades restoration. Moreover, it provides keen insight into the new thinking required to preserve and reinvigorate the state’s fragile ecosystem.

Shortly before the deal was announced with U.S. Sugar, the South Florida Water Management District launched a new initiative: to reserve water for environmental needs — in particular, for fish and wildlife in the Kissimmee River north of Lake O.

Because water in the Kissimmee flows into the lake — and then is distributed throughout the region for a variety of uses — the district’s decision has significant implications for all of South Florida.

District officials have taken the precedent-setting step of establishing guidelines governing the allocation of water in the Kissimmee. As Chip Merriam, deputy executive director of water resources for SFWMD, wrote in a memo to board members:

“The district … is identifying river water for consumptive use and water for the protection of fish and wildlife. The water identified for the natural system may be protected through a water reservation as contemplated and authorized under state law.”

What does this mean? The river’s environmental needs may soon take precedence over agricultural and developmental needs. Additionally, the latter groups would be allowed to tap into this source only after the natural ecosystem has received an adequate supply of water.

This is a groundbreaking approach to water management. But this is how it should be.

Contrast this important policy change with the approach by the St. Johns River Water Management District — which has allowed water-intensive developments to imperil the St. Johns River — and you begin to grasp the far-reaching implications for the environment.

South Florida water managers are to be applauded for moving boldly in this direction. St. Johns managers need to get on board.

Stricter water-reservation rules are needed — in water districts throughout the state — to ensure this valuable resource is used first for environmental needs.

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Many people have been feeling rather discouraged and pessimistic about the future of our water resources lately, and for good reason.

Our St. Johns River is sick. The river is threatened with further degradation from shortsighted plans to withdraw millions of gallons of water a day from its flow. Also, we are reaching the limits of our aquifer.

Fortunately, I have recently been involved in a project that gives us good reason to remain hopeful and to keep fighting for a more sustainable future.

St. Johns Riverkeeper sponsored a public service announcement video contest for high school students titled “Conserving Water to Save Our Rivers.”

The contest was organized as a way to get kids involved in the effort to raise awareness about the importance of protecting both our St. Johns River and our groundwater resources.

We were overwhelmed by the number of quality entries received from students. The outstanding effort put forth by all of these high school students should be commended and serve as an inspiration to all of us.

I hope that their efforts will motivate us all to get more involved, as they have done.

I hope that their work will remind us of our obligation to leave a clean and healthy river and aquifer system to our children and future generations.

These talented students have demonstrated that they do have a critical role and substantial stake in the decisions that impact our rivers and our water supply.

We must make sure that their voices are heard and make sure that our decisions don’t jeopardize their future quality of life.

To view the top student public service announcement entries, visit www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org.

JIMMY ORTH,

executive director,

St. Johns Riverkeeper,

By: Karen Feagins

June 24, 2008 — Several Central Florida counties want to withdraw water from the St. John’s to supplement dwindling groundwater supplies. A pending request from Seminole County would take out only a few gallons a day, but environmentalists worry it could open the door to future withdrawals by other counties, amounting to more than a hundred million gallons a day. People near the mouth of the river in North Florida are crying foul. Lawsuits have been filed and protests launched. From WJCT in Jacksonville, Karen Feagins explains why the issue is so important to North Floridians.

 Click here to listen to story.

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Kevin Spear- Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer

WRITING ON THE ST. JOHNS RIVER

Biologist Jon Shenker’s nets contain an unusual haul of fish that could help resolve Central Florida’s water war with its neighbors to the north.Each of the days-old American shad in his catch looks like a “white sliver with tiny eyeballs” at less than a quarter-inch long, he says. Yet, they’re considered trophies when it comes to understanding the St. Johns River.

By studying the fish, Shenker hopes to unravel some of the fundamental ecology of a river that’s targeted to become the next major drinking fountain for fast-growing cities of Central Florida. Shenker and others hope to learn how such demands on the river would affect its life chain.

“One thing that surprises me is that nobody has ever done this kind of study,” said Shenker of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

Central Florida utilities want to tap the middle reaches of the 310-mile St. Johns River for as much as 150 million gallons daily for drinking water and irrigation. Fighting that plan is a coalition of environmentalists, politicians and residents of the Jacksonville area, where the river makes a scenic turn to the Atlantic Ocean.

The conflict now embroils lawyers, public-relations consultants, county and city legal staffs, a small but stubborn environmental group and a judge. A showdown state administrative hearing over a proposed Seminole County withdrawal is set for this fall.

What happens to fish?

When discussion of the water war came up, Shenker all but poked his fingers into his ears to block out details.

“I’m staying out of the politics,” he said. “I’m here to find out what the fish are doing. They [politicians] can take what I find and fight for it or against it.”

The St. Johns River Water Management District is paying $300,000 for the two-year study. The state agency has long said that the river can safely give up a quarter-billion gallons of water daily.

But the uproar from North Florida opponents, who fear withdrawals would cause harm, brought agency officials to concede they need to know more. Among new efforts, the water agency has hired outside scientists for fresh consideration of potential harm to river water, wetlands and wildlife.

As far as what happens to baby fish, Steve Miller, a biologist at the water agency, said he and colleagues initially looked at research on riverside power plants that use huge amounts of water for cooling. Some data suggested fish die in cooling pipes, but not enough of them to hurt the overall population, Miller said.

By extension, the water agency figured that intake pipes of water-treatment plants along the St. Johns River would have similar results.

But with the controversy raging over Central Florida’s proposed water withdrawals, the agency is re-examining its belief that the fish won’t be in jeopardy. “We want to be sure,” Miller said.

Migration to Canada

Harming an important spawning area for American shad could provoke anger far beyond Jacksonville.

Central Florida’s portion of the St. Johns River contains a segment called “shad alley.” It’s where huge numbers of American shad hatch, begin a multiyear migration to the Bay of Fundy in Canada and return to spawn. Shad is a prized sport fish.

But Shenker said his work will go further than estimating how many of those ocean roamers will get sucked into water plants.

He and eight student researchers will investigate what might happen to the fish if river flows are reduced and what could happen when salt levels go up because of the lesser freshwater flow.

Still ahead are tens of thousands of white slivers to catch. Through late next year, his students will tow specially designed nets at hundreds of spots in the river from near Cocoa to near Sanford. Captured fish larvae, along with several other species that show up alongside the more plentiful shad, will be identified under microscopes.

Eventually, shad alley should be biologically mapped in detail, and Shenker will tell district officials whether water-treatment plants would cause harm.

“In 30 years of research, this is the most intense study I’ve ever been involved with,” Shenker said.

Neil Armingeon, of the small St. Johns Riverkeeper group in Jacksonville, thinks Shenker is qualified for the work. He worries, however, about how the district will interpret Shenker’s findings.

“Politics has a way of trumping science,” Armingeon said.

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