These are current issues that our volunteers are working on. If you want to help you can:
North Central Florida’s Water Hijacked?
Central Florida’s growing communities have formulated a plan to transfer water across Water Management District borders from North Central Florida to the Villages and the greater Orlando area. The St. Johns’ River Water Management District is leading the charge. If these transfers from the Ocklawaha River, Withlacoochee River (southern), Lake Rousseau and the St. Johns go forward, the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers will be the next to be exploited to support the unsustainable growth in Central and South Florida. To find out more you can download the PowerPoint and meeting summary at: ftp://ftp.sjrwmd.com/AWS%20Big%20Meeting/
What can you do?
Contact Governor Crist’s office and write/call your state legislators to ask that growing communities use all other possible resources before looking to North Central Florida’s rivers and lakes. Florida needs a sustainable future—not short term solutions that will leave the entire state completely drained of fresh water resources. We will have updates on the planned transfer in our Newsletter.
The Importance of Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL’s)
Thanks to what we have learned from the new north to south water transfer plans, the Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL’s) set for the Suwannee Basin have taken on a whole new meaning. Now we know It is possible for a water utility company from another part of the State to come to the Suwannee River Water Management District and request a water use permit for surface water. They could even request to take river or lake water right down to the MFL set for that water body. It may sound implausible, but this is what is planned for several waterways in the St. Johns and Southwest Florida Water Management Districts.
The Importance of Minimum Flows and Levels 2
Suwannee River Dredge
The US Army Corps of Engineers is going forward with their plan to dredge the McGriff Pass in the Suwannee River Estuary. The project has been reduced in scope from the original plans. To learn more about the project and what you can do to help with this issue go to .pdf file at:
Suwannee Dredge
Suwannee—Florida’s Wildest River
The National Geographic has recently spent time reporting on the Suwannee Basin. NG Reporter, Stephan Lovgren, has written two news stories and done two news video shorts on the “Suwannee—Florida’s Wildest River,” on sturgeon and on manatees. The stories can be viewed online at:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060817-sturgeon_2.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061010-suwanee-video.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061020-manatees.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061020-manatee-video.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061218-florida-springs.html
John Moran – On the Ichetucknee
Award winning nature photographer, John Moran, has provided an outstanding image of Millpond Spring on the Ichetucknee River to our local public radio station for their 30th anniversary fund raising events. The desktop photo is available for your computer at his website. http://www.johnmoranphoto.com/
Support the City of High Springs in their demand that the proposed Wal-Mart in Alachua build their parking lot in a manner that will not hurt water quality at Hornsby Springs on the Santa Fe River.
info@city.highsprings.com
Water War Update on NPR. The Capital Report for September 8, 2006 covered the Georgia/Alabama/Florida water tug-of-war over the Apalachicola. You can listen the MP3 version it at: http://www.fsu.edu/~wfsu_fm/programs/cr/cr2006/index.htm
The half hour report also covers pollution issues in the Ichetucknee.
Report any water quality violations (i.e. illegal dumping, illegal building) so that we can report these problems to the authorities. This week one of our members reported a service station tank floating down the Suwannee.
Long5892@bellsouth.net
Encourage your Florida Legislators to see that Florida’s Statutes and Administrative Codes conform to the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972. You can find out who your representatives are by contacting your local Supervisor of Elections.
