Sanibel, Florida - March 26, 2007
ADD WATER QUALITY TREATMENT TO THE C-43 RESERVIOR UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The South Florida Water Management District (an entity of the State of Florida) is working with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to finance, design and construct a significant water quality component for the C-43 Reservoir. This reservoir, currently under construction near LaBelle, is designed to store excess Lake Okeechobee water. As designed, the reservoir will only store volumes of water but not treat the polluted water in order to reduce the amount of damaging nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus and other pollutants released into the Caloosahatchee River waters surrounding Sanibel.
It is these extreme discharges of nutrients that are contributing substantially to the damaging algae blooms that Sanibel is experiencing. A Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) is essential for the C-43 reservoir project so that water quality improvements are made prior to any releases from the reservoir into the Caloosahatchee and the waters surrounding Sanibel. Lands necessary for the STA adjacent to the C-43 Reservoir need to be acquired as soon as possible to prevent conflicting land uses from blocking the project. Such action will also provide equity with those funding measures already initiated for similar storage reservoirs along the east coast of Florida that are, like C-43, part of the overall Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP). All of the other reservoirs to be built throughout the State have a water quality component except for the Caloosahatchee reservoir.
ACQUIRE LANDS TO STORE EXCESS WATER RELEASES
The Federal Government, through the US Army Corps of Engineers, is currently restoring the Everglade's flow with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP.) As currently designed, the CERP has inadequate storage capacity to prevent excess releases of water towards Sanibel. This is due primarily to rapid land development along the Kissimmee River Basin, north of Lake Okeechobee.
An additional minimum of one-million acre feet of storage is necessary to substantially reduce the likelihood of harmful "emergency" releases to the Caloosahatchee River and the waters surrounding Sanibel.
New flow-ways through the Everglades Agricultural Areas and Water Conservation Areas (WCA's) south of the Lake and more storage throughout the watershed are needed to enable the release of more Lake water south into the Everglades rather than east and west to the estuaries including Sanibel.
REMOVE THE EXCESS NUTRIENTS, PARTICULARLY NITROGEN, FROM THE WATERS
In addition to the massive releases of nutrient- laden freshwater from Lake Okeechobee during 2004 and 2005, excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen, are entering our local waters through a variety of sources including septic system leaching and runoff, agricultural runoff, sewer plant treated water discharges and fertilizer runoff. Sanibel property owners invested $64 million dollars installing a centrifugal sanitary/sewer system and adopted the most stringent fertilizer ordinance on March 6th, 2007 in the state. Large algae blooms continue to deposit huge mounds of decaying algae on local beaches negatively impacting our economy and wildlife habitat.
DEMAND THE U.S. SENATE FULLY FUND THE "MOD-WATERS" PROJECT
The "Mod Waters" project was authorized in 1989 and is currently stalled in Congress. This project's primary purpose is to provide sufficient water to Everglades National Park. The project was originally estimated to be completed in 1997. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2000 legislation, which authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), provides that Mod Waters must be completed before several CERP projects that restore water flows to the Everglades can move forward.
With full funding, the project should be completed within approximately three years. The failure to fund this project constitutes a serious threat to the future of the Everglades and the ability to restore historic flows to the south, without which excessive water releases will continue to be made west to the Caloosahatchee River and sent towards Sanibel.
US Senator Mel Martinez: United States Senate 317 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
US Senator Bill Nelson: United States Senate 716 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Congressman Connie Mack: United States Congress 115 Cannon House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515