September 2015 - In This Issue:
PHOTO of the MONTH
Two days before Tropical Storm Erika's remnants moved through South Florida, crews from the SFWMD's Miami Field Station responded quickly to remove a massive tree from the C-100 Canal. The work helped ensure an unimpeded flow of water in the canal when rainfall associated with the storm arrived.
  
Visit us on Flickr to see more photos from around South Florida.
Chairman's Message
Daniel O'Keefe
Governing Board Chairman
With an eye toward finishing projects, the Governing Board adopted the District's budget for Fiscal Year 2016 (Oct. 1, 2015 - Sept. 30, 2016) following two public hearings this month. Nearly 84 percent of the $749.6 million budget is dedicated to work that benefits South Florida's natural systems while also and maintaining and operating the regional flood control system. Thanks to significant funding from the Florida Legislature, this work will be accomplished while lowering taxes for residents for the fifth consecutive year.

A recent sign of our construction progress came in mid-August when water began flowing into the District's vast A-1 "Flow Equalization Basin" (FEB) for the first time. Built across 15,000 acres, the A-1 FEB is the largest of three water storage areas that are part of the Governor's Restoration Strategies plan for improving Everglades water quality. The project is nearing completion ahead of schedule and will be the first operational Restoration Strategies project.

And looking ahead to October, the new budget year will also bring new leadership to the District. The Governing Board has selected Pete Antonacci as the agency's next executive director. An accomplished attorney, Mr. Antonacci's strong leadership skills and his vast experience in state government, finance and law will be assets in our push to continue achieving agency goals.

We're serving up some water conservation tips for the inside and outside of your home:
  • Save up to 50% by switching to a low-flow shower head.
     
  • Use the sink stopper to plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor and save up to 300 gallons a month.
     
  • Make sure your sprinkler system is only watering your lawn and not the house, sidewalk or street. You could save 15-21 gallons each time you water.
     
  • Use a broom instead of a water hose to clean your driveways, sidewalks and patios and save 8-18 gallons per minute.

BOO! IT'S HALLOWEEN AT DUPUIS
Scare Up a Costume and Come Out and Play!

Don't miss DuPuis Nature Center's 
Haunted Halloween  on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 9 p.m. Your family will enjoy the hay rides, haunted house, trick or treat trail and discovery center with crafts for kids! Put on your costumes, and we'll see you there! $10 per vehicle with all proceeds benefitting the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at DuPuis. For more information and location, visit our  website .
Surplus Land for Sale in Martin County

The SFWMD Governing Board has approved 19.62 acres of surplus land in Martin County for sale. The property is located on Kanner Highway (State Road 76). For a pre-bid information package with more details, please visit www.sfwmd.gov/surplusland .

Public Meeting on Real Estate Policies Scheduled for Nov. 9

The South Florida Water Management District is updating its land leasing policy, as well as other real estate policies. Public feedback is an important part of this process. The District will be taking public comments during a Project & Lands Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, in Okeechobee.

Visit www.sfwmd.gov/landleasing for more information on the land leasing program and copies of current policies. You can also submit comments online in advance of the meeting.

Oct. 1 - 9 a.m.
WRAC Meeting
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Oct. 8 - 9 a.m.
Governing Board Meeting
SFWMD Auditorium
3301 Gun Club Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Oct. 20 - 9 a.m.
Big Cypress Basin Board Meeting
Collier County Government Center
Commission Chambers
3299 Tamiami Trail East
Naples, FL 34112

MAJOR EVERGLADES WATER QUALITY PROJECT SET TO START OPERATIONS
A-1 FEB will be first project completed for the State's Restoration Strategies plan


With water starting to flow across its 15,000-acre footprint, the A-1 Flow Equalization Basin (FEB) is close to becoming the first project completed as part of the State's Restoration Strategies plan to improve Everglades water quality.
  
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) will operate the massive, shallow reservoir to help deliver water at the right time and in the right quantity to treatment wetlands that remove nutrients before the water reaches the Everglades. The A-1 FEB features a system of 21 miles of earthen levees and 15 water control structures - 10 with solar power - and will hold up to 60,000 acre-feet of water.
  
"Completing this significant project and continuing progress on others is how we achieve water quality goals," said Jeff Kivett, SFWMD Director of Operations, Engineering and Construction. "The A-1 will soon be fully operating and providing its intended critical restoration benefits to the Everglades." 

For more, read the SFWMD news release or watch video of water filling the basin for the first time.

RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER AS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH
Hurricane season is still alive in October
Turquoise seas gently lapping South Florida's coastlines can lull most everyone into complacency. However, the threat of a hurricane or tropical storm wreaking havoc is an ever-lurking reality. In recognition of September as
the South Florida Management District (SFWMD) highlighted the importance of communities and families having a plan to communicate and stay safe in an emergency.
 
Though there are officially only two months remaining in the hurricane season,  all Floridians are reminded  that the Atlantic hurricane season is still alive in October. Residents are encouraged to stay prepared.
According to national meteorologists, Florida is the state most likely to see a hurricane make landfall during the month of October, with the southern part of Florida most at risk. From 1851-2013, 32 hurricanes made landfall in Florida in October. The most recent was Hurricane Wilma  on Oct. 24, 2005.

Hurricane landfalls in October from 1950 - 2013
Hurricanes are the Genesis of a Massive Flood Control System
Originally called the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District, the SFWMD was established in 1949 after a decade of intense hurricane activity. Dade and Broward counties were inundated in 1947 when two hurricanes in three weeks caused widespread flooding and put Miami International Airport under water. In 1948, two hurricanes in two weeks moved through the Keys and South Florida with winds peaking at 122 mph in Key West. In 1949, a major hurricane passed from Palm Beach to Lake Okeechobee with winds gusting to 153 mph in Jupiter.

One of SFWMD's most important responsibilities is the operation of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. This vast network of canals and levees was authorized by Congress in 1948 to protect central and southern Florida from deadly floods and droughts.  One of the world's largest public works projects, it was built during the 1950s and '60s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This complex project is a freshwater system encompassing the Kissimmee River and its chain of connected lakes, the half-million acres of Lake Okeechobee and more than 2,100 miles of canals that stretch to Homestead.

The SFWMD operates and maintains more than 600 water control structures that allow regulation of water levels in the lakes and canals of South Florida. To move water in the extremely flat regions around and to the south of Lake Okeechobee, 71 pump stations are utilized.

Before, during and after a hurricane or major storm, the SFWMD must operate at top efficiency to protect life and property. A comprehensive plan for hurricane readiness, response and recovery is an integral part of day-to-day activities.

What Preparedness Looks Like at the South Florida Water Management District
In preparation for hurricane season, the SFWMD conducts an annual exercise called "Hurricane Freddy" to test the agency's emergency operations response to and recovery from a major hurricane. Trained District staff exercise emergency management and flood control procedures in response to Hurricane Freddy, a simulated hurricane. The virtual scenario includes persistent, heavy rainfall and flooding in portions of the District's 16-county region, challenging water managers to address numerous hurricane-related incidents and demands on the flood control system.

The SFWMD Emergency Operations Center is activated for hurricanes and flooding to manage resources, map and model storm activity and plan for recovery operations. In addition, the SFWMD assists State emergency management to provide resources such as heavy equipment, generators, pumps and personnel for emergencies outside the 16-county service area.

GOVERNING BOARD MEMBER TOURS PROJECT SITE
Clarke Harlow got an up-close look at progress on the L-8 FEB
Governing Board Member Clarke Harlow (right) recently received a guided tour of the Restoration Strategies L-8 Flow Equalization Basin (FEB) project construction site in western Palm Beach County. SFWMD Principal Scientist and Project Manager Greg Coffelt led the tour of the L-8 FEB, which features a circular three-level pump station now under brisk construction. The pump station is 72 feet high and 48 feet in diameter, equivalent to a seven-story building. It's the only one of its kind in the state.

Building on a strategically located 950-acre former rock mine, this deep-ground reservoir, averaging 53 feet, is capable of storing 45,000 acre-feet of water - that's enough to fill the Taj Mahal nearly 10,000 times! Initially, this project will function as a multipurpose FEB to capture, store and deliver water to Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) 1 East and 1 West and the Loxahatchee River and for other restoration purposes. When the STA-1 West expansion is completed and additional storage for the Loxahatchee River comes online, the L-8 FEB will transition to primarily delivering consistent flows at an ideal rate needed to optimize water quality improvement performance of STA-1 East and STA-1 West. 

Check out this L-8 FEB construction video to take your own bird's-eye tour of the project site.

MITIGATION PROJECT CREATES MANATEE REFUGIA

A component of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project in southwest Florida is plugging the canals north of Port of the Islands Marina, causing an impact to the existing warm water refugia for manatees populating this area in the Faka Union Canal. A refugia is an area where special environmental circumstances enable a community of species to survive. 

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) negotiated a solution with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to mitigate the impacts in accordance with the Marine Mammal Act. By constructing an oxbow along the Faka Union Canal just south of the marina, the warm refugia in the marina will be functionally "replaced." This Manatee Mitigation Project taps into the warm groundwater in the bottom of the deep pools of the oxbow, providing a warm refugia for the manatees during cold snaps from December through March.

SFWMD staff strategically scouted for manatees and worked with other state and federal resource agencies and the building contractor to develop a safe, approved and successful blasting plan. Take a look at the  video .

The Picayune Strand Restoration Project will re-establish natural sheetflow to enhance wetlands in the 55,000-acre Picayune Stand and provide more natural freshwater inflow to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The project includes constructing three pump stations with spreader canals, plugging 40 miles of canals and removing 227 miles of roads.


The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) participated in the 2015 Business Matchmaker Conference & Expo on Sept. 18 to share contracting opportunities for ongoing and future construction projects. Jeff Kivett, Director of Operations, Engineering & Construction, presented the SFWMD's plans for the next five years. One of the key initiatives shared is implementing the Governor's Restoration Strategies plan to improve water quality for the Everglades and the project design and construction that will be required.

The event, held at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, focused on building relationships among small minority business enterprises, government entities and large corporations.
DRAFT 2016 SOUTH FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
The South Florida Water Management District is pleased to announce the Draft 2016 South Florida Environmental Report - Volume I is available for peer and public review and comment through Oct. 2 at www.sfwmd.gov/sfer The draft report  details accomplishments for  Water Year 2015 (May 1, 2014 - April 30, 2015)  in restoration, science and engineering in the Kissimmee Basin, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades and South Florida coastal areas.