SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FEASIBILITY STUDY
Regional Issues
Introduction
The Regional Issues Paper is a project
focus statement which describes the criteria for identifying issues to be
addressed by the Southwest Florida Feasibility Study, summarizes the procedure
used in identifying those issues from an extensive issues-matrix that formed
the basis of the development of this document, and describes the key issues and
opportunities within each sub-regional watershed of the study area. Some of the
issues identified in the matrix, while relevant, do not fall within the purview
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) or the South Florida Water
Management District (District). Others,
while important, are local and do not have regional impact. Several have potential regional impact and
are significantly interrelated; an attempt to address one may affect many
others. The issues addressed will
include those for which the Corps and/or the District have direct
oversight. Other issues that do not
fall within the purview of the District and the Corps may also be discussed
where there are opportunities for local government and other agencies to
address them. In addition, previous studies in the study area have raised
issues and proposed solutions, which will be considered as part of this study.
A series of CERP recommendations will
result in completed projects within the study area. These projects will be incorporated into the SWFFS and
their cumulative impacts will be considered when evaluating alternatives in
this study. These include the C-43
Basin Storage Reservoir and Aquifer Storage and Recover (ASR), Caloosahatchee
River (C-43) Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilot Project, Caloosahatchee
Backpumping with Stormwater Treatment, Environmental Water Supply Deliveries to
the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Lakes Park Restoration, Big Cypress/L-28
Interceptor Modifications Project, Water Conservation Area 3
Decompartmentalization and Sheetflow Enhancement (Part 2), Henderson
Creek/Belle Meade Restoration, and Southern Golden Gate Estates
Restoration. In addition, there are
several Critical Projects in the study area.
The Critical Projects are the Southern Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem
Watershed Project Addition, Lake Trafford Restoration, Seminole Tribe/Big
Cypress Water Conservation Plan, and Tamiami Trail Culverts and Canal
Plugs. All of these projects will be assessed incorporated
into the SWFFS and their cumulative impacts will be considered
when evaluating alternatives in this study. While
the CERP-recommended projects address some of the flow issues in the study
area, other restoration and reconnection issues exist that will be addressed by
the SWFFS.
All
alternatives will be assessed without the above-identified CERP
projects in place.
Only those CERP or Critical projects which have been
authorized at the time that the alternatives assessment is
initiated for the SWFFS will be assessed as a part of
the 2050 “without project” baseline.
Performance measures will be
established to evaluate natural system functions. The
potential environmental and water resources impact of land conversion from one
land use type to another was identified as an issue for consideration. While the SWFFS will not involve land use
planning, forecasted land use changes will be incorporated into the future
condition models used in the study. The
impact of the land use changes on the magnitude,;
timing and duration of demand, and runoff, and
affects on water quality will be identified. The various land use change projections will
be developed from best available data.
The SWFFS will address the potential
flooding impact of recommended changes to the system. Projects will be recommended that reduce or have no additional
flooding risk to urban and agricultural areas.
The ancillary benefit of proposed storage projects on existing flood
prone areas will be examined. The
drawdown impact of agricultural and urban water uses in the watersheds will be
identified. The effect of linear
features, such as roads, on surface hydrology will be addressed using regional
or sub-regional models developed for the study.
The study will also identify the need
and opportunity for additional storage as well as sustainable development of
surface and ground water resources for agriculture, and urban uses at a 1-in-10
level of service. Improvement in the
timing, duration, and magnitude of water deliveries to coastal and inland
ecosystems should result from improvements in the distribution of surface
storage. Improved water deliveries from
storage to relieve water shortages in the estuaries and other demand areas is
anticipated from the proposed CERP projects in the study area. Further improvement from additional in-basin
storage and other potential recommendations to supplement uses in the study
area and provide dry season flows to the estuarine systems is an anticipated
benefit from the SWFFS. Water resource
development projects for urban and agricultural competing demands willmay
be developed to ensure availability of water for the natural system needs. These water resource projects will be
designed at a 1-in-10 drought level of service. The study will emphasize a water conservation strategy and will
incorporate reduced consumption from proposed conservation efforts in modeling
of future conditions as well as relevant findings of the Regional Irrigation
Distribution System (RIDS) Master Plan study.
The use of fire as a management tool is
constrained by urban development in portions of the study area and hydrology
within the watersheds. This issue will
be addressed by the SWFFS, however the study will limit its focus on this issue
to an assessment of the effects of hydrologic alteration on the extent and
severity of wild and man-induced fires and subsequent fire management problems.
The study will not directly address the
issue of removal or eradication of invasive species as a specific plan
component region-wide. However, all
components of the recommended plan will consider the need for eradication of
invasive species within the footprint of the component and benefits resulting
from hydrologic changes will be considered as alternatives are assessed.
The impact to tourism and recreation
and the impacts of tourism and recreation on the resources were important
issues for consideration. These will be
included in the economic evaluation of alternatives. While these issues are not addressed directly in the study, they
represent potential secondary benefits associated with alternatives that will
be specifically addressed in the study and will be taken into consideration
when evaluating otherwise equally beneficial alternatives.
Process
Each of the issues identified within
each watershed (as shown in the Issue Matrix) was subjected to a series of
questions listed below. Additional
discussions specific to each issue subsequently followed, and then the issue
was identified as appropriate for this study or removed from consideration in
this study. The effect of excluding an
issue from consideration from this study is that solutions recommended are not
developed primarily with those issues in mind.
However, there could still be solutions to issues considered that have
collateral benefit to those issues not directly considered.
The screening questions include:
1
Is the issue a regional issue or a local issue?
2
Does the issue have a hydrologic impact or hydrologic fix?
3
Is there a Federal interest?
4
Is it a Corps/District
responsibility or within the Corps/District’s purview?
5
Is there another government agency that could be a local
sponsor?
6
Is the issue being addressed already?
7
Is the issue the responsibility of a government entity or
agency?
In addition to these questions, a
series of additional questions were used to determine our ability to
quantitatively evaluate alternatives or identify opportunities related to each
issue. These questions address our
ability to model or analyze, in a scientifically objective and defensible
manner, the specifics of each issue.
The questions asked were:
1
Can the issue be represented in a model?
2
Can it be quantified?
3
Can a performance measure be developed to indicate
improvement or success?
Based on the responses to these
questions a shortlist of issues that meet the criteria for consideration in
this study was developed. The issues
that were identified but not included in the regional issues will be documented
in the final feasibility report for the Southwest Florida Feasibility Study
(SWFFS) but no implementation plan will be developed to address those issues
specifically. However if
a recommended solution is identified during the assessment process it will be
identified with a recommendation as to possible avenues to
address but not funded through the feasibility study.
The SWFFS will formulate, evaluate, and
recommend solutions for regional issues that fall within the purview of the
Federal and state partners. The issues
that cross watershed boundaries were presented previously. Those issues that are specific to the
sub-regional watershed are presented and discussed below. The sub-regional watershed boundaries are
illustrated on the following map.
IMPROVED MAP WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE
FINAL DOCUMENT.
Caloosahatchee Watershed
The Caloosahatchee watershed extends over the north
portion of the study area from Lake Okeechobee to the mouth of the
Caloosahatchee River. Natural storage,
distributed reservoirs, ASRs, and other approaches to increase storage will be
identified and evaluated to augment storage from CERP components. The study will explore the opportunity for
habitat preservation, water quality improvement and flowway restoration that
show a quantifiable benefit. The
hydrologic impacts of preserved natural lands will be quantified in the
modeling efforts associated with the study and, along with other factors, will
form the basis of preservation and/or restoration or acquisition recommendations
within the Caloosahatchee watershed portion of the study area. Efforts will be made to ensure that study
recommended solutions are consistent with the function or preservation
potential of each site or location.
Conceptual and ecological models will be used to evaluate the
non-hydrology related benefits of habitat improvement and preservation,
restoration and enhancement.
The study will examine impacts of hydrologic
modifications on aquatic resources including estuaries and their associated
fisheries. Adverse environmental
impacts of study recommendations will be identified and minimized. Opportunities for restoration of the natural
systems will be actively explored.
Study recommendations will be developed to enhance restoreation of
natural aquatic resources including estuaries and their fisheries. The approach may include recommendations of
changes to operation schedules for the structures on the Caloosahatchee River,
including the proposed regional ASR/reservoir complex to ensure improved
distribution and timing of freshwater flows to the Caloosahatchee Estuary,
improvements in water quality and preservation or expansion of native
habitat. The potential impact of the
altered flows to downstream resources, including the Caloosahatchee Estuary
will be identified. The impact of
lockage operations on salinity, water quality and flow to the estuary will be
more directly investigated.
Opportunity for restoration of natural flow ways for
storage, protection of aquifer recharge areas, water quality improvements, and
wildlife habitat benefits will be sought.
Specifically, the areas in and around Okaloacoochee Slough, Telegraph
Creek, Lake Hicpochee, the Lehigh/Buckingham region and the Caloosahatchee
River oxbows will be investigated for their potential to provide hydrologic
connectivity, wildlife corridors, water quality enhancement, natural storage,
aquifer recharge, habitat restoration and preservation.
Opportunities identified in the
Caloosahatchee watershed may include those that result in benefits outside the
watershed. This is necessary due to the
significant interconnectedness of the various watersheds in the SWFFS
area. The Okaloacoochee Slough boundary
to the south and the Telegraph Cypress/Cecil Webb connections to the north are
examples of such cross-basin flow areas in the Caloosahatchee watershed.
Charlotte Harbor Watershed
The Charlotte Harbor watershed extends over the
northwestern portion of the study area and covers most of Cape Coral, all of
Pine Island, Little Pine Island and the southwestern portion of Charlotte
County. The full Charlotte Harbor
watershed extends beyond the boundaries of the SWFFS area.
Several of the same issues raised for the
Caloosahatchee watershed are pertinent in the Charlotte Harbor watershed. A key theme common to most of the issues in
this watershed is the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area
(Webb WMA)/tributaries to the Caloosahatchee River/Gator Slough hydrologic
interactions. The SWFFS will focus on
hydrologic restoration and preservation of the Webb Wildlife Management Area,
including the newly acquired Yucca Pens Area, flow restoration and hydrologic
reconnection to the Caloosahatchee River and Greater Charlotte Harbor. The study will also explore water resources
development potential along the existing Gator Slough and Gator Slough Canal
including current efforts by Lee County and the City of Cape Coral. The opportunity for landscape scale
preservation from Charlotte Harbor eastward has been identified in this
watershed and will be considered in alternative solutions proposed by the
SWFFS.
The SWFFS will seek to identify water quality,
hydrology and wildlife habitat enhancement, restoration and preservation
opportunities as well as sustainable development of surface and ground water
resources within the watershed. Natural
storage of surface waters in the Webb Wildlife Management Area (consistent with
its environmental needs and function), the distributed reservoir concept, water
storage in the Cape Coral canals and Gator Slough Canal, ASRs and other water
storage approaches will be considered.
The hydrologic impacts and opportunities of preserved natural lands will
be quantified in the modeling efforts associated with the study and, along with
other factors, will form the basis of enhancement, restoration, and/or
preservation and acquisition recommendations in the
Charlotte Harbor watershed. Efforts
will be made to ensure that study recommended solutions are consistent with the
preservation purpose of each site or location.
Existing and potential impacts of modified water
releases on aquatic resources will be identified and projects recommended by
the study will minimize adverse impacts and identify opportunities for
restoration.
The study will emphasize a water conservation strategy
in this watershed and will incorporate reuse and other water conservation
strategies in modeling for future conditions in Cape Coral and other urban and
residential areas.
The SWFFS will investigate the flooding impact of recommended
changes to the Webb Wildlife Management Area, the Yucca Pens Unit, the
Charlotte Harbor State Buffer Preserve, Yucca Pen Creek, Gator Slough,
tributary creeks of the Caloosahatchee River, including Yellow Fever Creek,
Hancock Creek, Powell Creek, both branches of Daughtry’s Creek, Popash Creek,
Stroud Creek, Owl Creek, Telegraph Creek, and Cypress Creek, and other
restoration or flow way reconnection projects within the watershed through
urban and agricultural areas. Ancillary
flood protection benefits of the projects will be quantified by modeling, where
possible.
There is significant use of the Floridan Aquifer
System for urban water supply in this watershed. Drawdown impact and wellfield interactions will be identified and
evaluated. If ASR is considered as a storage option in the watershed the
interaction with aquifer levels will be evaluated and quantified by modeling,
if possible.
The effect on surface hydrology, including flooding,
disruption of sheet flow and diversion through parallel ditches of linear
features such as Burnt Store Road, Del Prado Extension, Zemel Grade, US 41,
Bayshore Road, and I-75 will be addressed using hydrologic models developed for
the study.
Opportunities identified in this
watershed may include those that result in benefits outside the watershed. For example, restoration efforts at the Webb
Wildlife Management Area, and tributary streams south of the Webb Wildlife
Management Area could have beneficial results in flows to the Caloosahatchee
Estuary that will be explored by the SWFFS.
Collier East Watershed (Big
Cypress)
The Collier East watershed extends
over the southeastern portion of the study area from the Okaloacoochee Slough
to the north, south through the Big Cypress National Preserve to the western
boundary of Everglades National Park.
The western extent is SR 29. A
significant portion of this watershed (e.g., Okaloacoochee Slough, Big Cypress
National Park and Everglades National Park) is in public holding and offers
significant opportunity for restoration.
In addition to suggested restoration opportunities in Okaloacoochee
Slough, Deep Lake and Turner River system, a natural systems model representing
best estimate of predevelopment conditions will be used to identify other
restoration opportunities within the watershed.
The study will address management of the SR 29 canal
and water control structures as well as the point discharge to the
estuary. The potential impact of the
altered flows to coastal estuaries will be evaluated, as well.
Opportunities for development of groundwater and
surface water resources within the watershed to address the safe yield
exceedance concerns in the primary aquifers will be studied. The drawdown impacts of the groundwater withdrawals
as well as the effect on hydrology of linear features such as US 41, I-75, SR
29, Loop Road, and Upper Wagon Wheel road, will be addressed using regional or
sub-regional models developed for the study.
The potential environmental and water
resources impact of land use changes, including those proposed in Collier
County comprehensive plans were identified as issues for consideration in the
Collier East watershed. While the SWFFS
will not involve land use planning, the forecasted land use changes will be
incorporated into the future condition models used in the study and the impact
of the changes, including magnitude, duration and timing of surface water
demand, discharge and runoff, will be identified from modeling.
Opportunities identified in the
Collier East watershed may include activities and projects that result in
benefits outside the watershed, because of the significant interconnectedness
of the various watersheds in the SWFFS area.
The Okaloacoochee Slough boundary to the north is a primary example of a
cross-basin flow area in the watershed.
Collier West Watershed
The Collier West watershed extends over the
southwestern portion of the study area west of SR 29 to the Gulf of Mexico and
shares its northern boundary with the Estero Bay watershed. The SWFFS will explore the need and
opportunity for additional storage within the watershed for agricultural,
environmental, and urban uses. An
example is the need for upstream storage to modify inflows into the Southern
Golden Gate Estate Restoration project area while maintaining the current level
of flood protection in Northern Golden Gate. The water resource impacts
(drawdown, drainage, etc.) and potential (storage, recharge, etc.) of rock and
sand mines will be investigated. In
addition, water resource issues associated with Naples Bay and District 6 will
be reviewed.
There are a significant number of canals and
structures in the watershed, the operations of which affect various receiving
waters. These canals are designed for
rapid drainage within the watershed.
The SWFFS will explore structural and operational changes to reduce the
adverse impacts to man and to natural systems, including fresh water discharges
to estuaries. The impact of altered
surface water discharges on the salinity regimes in the estuaries will be
evaluated and potential aquatic resource impacts identified.
The SWFFS will identify groundwater and surface water
resources within the watershed to address the safe yield exceedance and
saltwater intrusion concerns in the primary aquifers. Opportunities in the Floridan aquifer will be explored and
potential conflicts with existing Floridan aquifer uses will be
considered. The drawdown impacts of
groundwater withdrawals as well as the effect on hydrology of existing and proposed
linear features such as I-75, CR 951, US 41, Livingston Road and the several
east-west canals that impede north-south flows will be identified.
Implementation of Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs),
including regional STAs, for water quality enhancement prior to discharge to
receiving waters will be evaluated. For
example, the South Belle Meade surface flow restoration to Rookery Bay and Ten
Thousand Islands may require use of a STA or other load reduction strategy.
The SWFFS will examine opportunities for habitat
improvement and preservation, and water quality and hydrologic improvement that
show a quantifiable benefit. The
hydrologic benefits of preserved natural lands will be quantified in the
modeling efforts associated with the study and, along with other factors, will
form the basis of any preservation or acquisition recommendations within
the watershed. Effort will be made to
ensure that study recommended solutions are consistent with the function or
preservation potential of each site or location. Other methodologies to quantify
the non-hydrology related benefits of habitat improvement and preservation
including conceptual and ecological models will be used in the study.
Opportunity for restoration of flow ways for storage,
aquifer recharge, water quality improvement, and wildlife and fisheries
benefits will be sought. Specifically,
the areas around the Cocohatchee River, Gordon River, Fakahatchee Strand,
Picayune Strand, and Camp Keais Strand will be identified for hydrologic
connectivity, wildlife corridors, natural storage, aquifer recharge, and
habitat restoration and preservation. In addition, water resource
issues associated with Naples Bay and District 6 will be reviewed.
Opportunities in the Collier West watershed may
include activities and projects that result in benefits outside the watershed,
because of the significant interconnection of the various watershed in the
SWFFS area. The Cocohatchee River basin
boundary on the north is a primary example of a cross-basin flow area in the
watershed.
Estero Bay Watershed
The Estero Bay watershed is located between the
Caloosahatchee watershed and the Collier West watershed. It extends from Estero Bay and the Barrier
islands on the west to Lake Trafford on the East. It is bounded to the north by SR 82 and extends just south of the
Imperial River.
This watershed has and continues to experience the
most rapid urban growth in the SWFFS area.
Several of the concerns within the watershed are related to the impacts
of development. The watershed also
contains a significant portion of public and private conservation lands
including the Estero Bay Aquatic and State Buffer Preserves, Corkscrew Swamp
Sanctuary, Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed, Six-Mile Cypress, and
Corkscrew Regional Mitigation Bank.
Recent studies including the Lower West Coast Water
Supply Plan, Estero Bay and Watershed Assessment (SFWMD 1999) and the Corps
Environmental Impact Statement identified many of the same issues within the
watershed and proposed projects to address some of these issues (e.g., Ten-Mile
Canal Filter-Marsh Project). The SWFFS
will identify hydrologic restoration and preservation opportunities, including
the opportunity for landscape scale preservation and flow way restoration. Currently identified flow way restoration
opportunities such as Halfway Creek, Southern CREW, as well as other potential
areas identified during the study will be evaluated for their potential water
quality, wildlife habitat and hydrologic benefits.
The impacts of existing and planned canals, including
Ten-Mile Canal, Briarcliff Canal and Kehl Canal to surface water flow
magnitude, duration and frequency of discharges to surface water bodies
including tributaries and Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve will be examined and
evaluated. Potential solutions,
including regional STAs will be evaluated.
The potential for water quality improvement will be evaluated.
The potential for saltwater intrusion and impact of
urban water use along the coastal regions will be assessed. The risk of saltwater intrusion due to
shallow and intermediate aquifer groundwater use in the Bonita Springs area,
subdued water table elevation due to channelization and drainage as well as
saltwater import through surface water channels connected to Estero Bay will be
studied.
The SWFFS will examine the need and opportunity to
provide additional water storage and water supply within the watershed for
man-made needs; however, preservation, enhancement and/or restoration of
natural systems is also a priority of the study. Natural storage in the several wet systems in the watershed
(consistent with their environmental needs, function and purpose), reservoir
storage, and other approaches will be considered. Recommended solutions will be consistent with the preservation
purpose of each site or location. The
water resource potential and impacts of mines including storage, reduction in
water table fluctuation, pollutant access to aquifers, etc. will be evaluated
using the models developed for the study.
Opportunity for enhanced aquifer recharge using excess flows (to the
Bay) due
to anthropogenic impacts at designated areas such as canals and
regional stormwater treatment areas and other locations will be explored.
The SWFFS will investigate the flooding impact of
recommended solutions to anthropogenic flooding in developed
flood prone areas of South Lee County.
Flood protection benefits of the projects will be quantified by modeling
where possible. The effect on hydrology of existing linear features such as
I-75 and planned roads, such as Ben Hill Griffin Parkway Treeline extension,
will also be addressed using hydrologic models developed for the study.
There is significant use of the Shallow, Intermediate
and Floridan Aquifer Systems for multiple uses in this watershed. Drawdown impact and wellfield interactions
will be considered when evaluating allternatives. Limitations in water table aquifer use due to prevalent use of
septic systems and potential leakage from these systems in some portions of the
watershed such as the San Carlos area will be identified and factored into
potential solutions.
Opportunities identified in this
watershed will include those that result in benefits outside the
watershed. Linkages to the Collier West
watershed in the Cocohatchee and Camp Keais areas are likely locations where
project recommendations in this watershed will have benefits or impacts to
other watersheds.
Discussion
The significant overlap in issues
within each of the sub watershed may present opportunity for true regional
solutions with effects that span the entire study area. The SWFFS will identify and evaluate these
regional opportunities.