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Topics Under Discussion by the Council
Statewide Issues
Recreational Opportunities on Lands Owned by the South Florida Water Management District Recyclable Water Containment Areas for Watersheds Total Maximum Daily Load Program
Recreational Opportunities on Lands Owned by the South Florida Water Management District ... The South Florida Water Management District is the steward for approximately 375,000 acres of public land. Over the years, the agency has taken great strides to expand public recreational use opportunities on land purchased with public dollar. As the agency continues its aggressive pace to acquire land for Everglades restoration and other ecosystem restoration and water resource projects, it is taking proactive efforts to enhance and expand its recreational use program throughout its 16 county jurisdiction. This year, it is working to gather public feedback and comments on rules for the agency’s recreational use program. From hiking, fishing, camping, bird-watching, horseback riding, nature study, cycling, hunting and more, citizens have the opportunity to tell the District what recreational features they would like to see on District-managed public lands while protecting natural resources and intended land use priorities.
Recyclable Water Containment Areas for Watersheds ... an idea to retain water within the basin or watershed for the betterment of society, agriculture, and the environment. The premise of this paper, By Dr. Ed Hanlon, Director of the Southwest Florida Research & Education Center at UF-IFAS, is to develop a means by which private land owners/growers can benefit from assisting with the management of water at the watershed level for control of non-urban stormwater runoff, nutrient sequestering, and soil quality improvement.
Total Maximum Daily Load Program ... the quality of all surface waters in Florida is being evaluated, and new regulations will go into effect to restore impaired water to a healthy condition. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a given pollutant that a water body can absorb and still maintain its designated uses (e.g., drinking, fishing, swimming, shellfish harvesting). These "amounts" are based on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Surface Water Quality Standards, F.A.C. 62-302. One water body may have several TMDLs, one for each pollutant that exceeds the water body's capacity to absorb it safely. The assessment of watersheds for deriving TMDLs was delegated to each state Department of Environmental Protection after the 1999 ruling that the US EPA had not upheld the 1973 Clean Water Act (CWA).
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