South Florida Water Management District April Agricultural Highlights Report

Unusual Spring Rainfall Allows District to Loosen Restrictions

Unusual wide-spread spring rainfall has given the South Florida Water Management District governing board a margin of confidence to back off of stringent Modified Phase III water restrictions in most basins within the District. Phase III water restrictions required up to a 45% cutback in permitted allotments of water to farmers.

Effective April 18, Modified Phase II water restrictions will be in place for all basins within the District except in the following areas where Modified Phase III conditions will continue:

• Lake Okeechobee Service Area (Basins surrounding Lake Okeechobee)
• Indian Prairie Basin (northwest of Lake Okeechobee)
• Sandstone aquifer users in the unincorporated areas of Lee and Collier County
• Lower east coast utilities at risk (Lake Worth, Lantana, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach)
• M – Canal Basin (including the City of West Palm Beach)

For agriculture, Modified Phase II restrictions require up to a 30% cutback in permitted allotments of water. Although crop yields are significantly affected from Phase II restrictions, farmers are at least capable of producing crops on impacted lands.

Modified Phase II restrictions will also help to increase sales of landscape plants as homeowners will be able to water their lawns twice per week. Homeowners have been reluctant to buy plants when they were only able to water once a week even though an ample ‘water in period’ of 30 days was allowed in the restriction.

Lake Okeechobee has also responded to the rainfall with favorable inflows from tributaries and is at an elevation of 10.50 feet as of April 14. This level is above the level recorded on this date last year but is still 3 _ feet below normal levels for April.

Governor Crist Appoints Two to District Governing Board

Florida Farm Bureau Federation welcomes Mr. Robert G. Montgomery (Jerry) and Mr. Paul C. Huck, Jr., Esq. to the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board.

Jerry Montgomery is Senior Vice President for Conservation & Environmental Sustainability with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Lake Buena Vista. Mr. Montgomery’s interest is in conservation issues in Florida and has been with Disney since 1980. He replaces Harkley Thornton representing the northern counties within the District.

Paul Huck is a new partner with the law firm of Colsen, Hicks, Eidson located in Coral Gables. Prior to February, Mr. Huck was General Counsel for Governor Crist in Tallahassee. Mr. Huck’s interests lie in the management of “our most natural resource to effectively balance the needs of Florida’s citizens, economy and environment.” He replaces Nic Gutiérrez representing Miami-Dade county.

Water Conservation Document to Include Agriculture

Florida Farm Bureau Federation has been actively working with the District and many other organizations and municipalities to develop a year-round conservation document that will include regulatory, voluntary, incentive-based, education and marketing strategies to address water conservation and effect change toward a lasting conservation culture in South Florida.

The document is in its third iteration and will be debated in a Conservation Summit setting at least one more time before being presented to the Water Resources Advisory Commission and Governing Board for final approval.

Florida Farm Bureau Federation is encouraging the inclusion of a paragraph denoting the aggressive stance that agriculture has taken during the past decade to conserve water through Best Management Practices (BMPs). It is important that south Florida agriculture be united in this effort to protect our water supplies for future crops and animal production.

C-139 BMP Demonstration Cost-share Grant Applications Being Accepted

The C-139 Basin is the second largest tributary of phosphorus to the Everglades Protection Area (EPA) and is the only tributary currently not in compliance with the phosphorus loading requirements of the Everglades Forever Act (EFA). Since 2002, however, landowners in the C-139 Basin follow a mandatory Best Management Practices (BMPs) program for phosphorus control based on standard statewide practices. They have also participated in many initiatives to bring phosphorus levels down.

In an effort to further reduce phosphorus levels, the District is accepting applications for BMP Demonstration Cost-share Grants available to landowners. The objective of the C-139 Basin Best Management Practices Demonstration and Effectiveness Grant (Demonstration Grant) is to cost-share projects focused on innovation or optimization of BMPs that are presumed to be effective in removing phosphorus under the Basin-specific conditions based on available technical information, and to optimize the use of the funds available for the greatest Basin-wide benefits.

Complete applications shall be submitted to SFWMD – Procurement Department by June 6, 2008, 2:30 pm, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406. Landowners that need additional information should contact the District – Clewiston Field Station.