South Florida Water Management District

South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Appointments

Governing board members elected Shannon Estenoz as Vice-Chair during the May board meeting. Ms. Estenoz replaces Nic Gutiérrez who no longer serves on the board. Eric Buermann will remain Chair of the governing board.

Additionally, Ms. Estenoz will also serve as Vice-Chair of the Water Resources Advisory Commission (WRAC). Mike Collins will remain chair of the Commission. WRAC is an advisory body to the SFWMD Governing Board and the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Members are appointed to the Commission by the SFWMD Governing Board, and represent a broad range of business, agricultural, environmental, tribal, governmental and public interests.

Water Conditions Once Again Approaching Critical Status After Early April Rain

Water levels in Lake Okeechobee and district canals across south Florida are approaching critically low levels after the odd spring rainfall on April 7. Lake Okeechobee rose over _ foot in response to the rainfall but the level is now back in single digits with the lake level at 9.81 feet as of May 19.

The largest factor in decreasing lake levels is not water use but evapotranspiration (ET). ET values are highest when weather conditions are warm and breezy with low humidity. The last several weeks that have spawned numerous wildfires are indicative of these weather conditions.

Drought conditions still persist over the southern part of Florida ranging from abnormally dry along the east coast to severe from Lake Okeechobee southwest to the gulf coast.

Long range forecasts from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center indicate a normal rainfall pattern for the start of the tropical season in June and above-normal chances for rainfall during the three months of June through August.

Governing Board Members Tour Dairy

Bob and Pam Butler of Butler Oaks Dairy provided the South Florida Water Management District governing board and executive staff with a first hand look at Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Dairy Best Available Technology (BAT) that greatly reduce stormwater and nutrient runoff.

The BMPs and Dairy BAT programs on the Butler’s Dairy land retains stormwater runoff on the farm property. Solids are removed and dried for composting and the water is applied to the hay fields thus recycling nutrients from cattle waste.

The following photos were taken during the tour.

Update on Emergency Actions for Structure Stability on Kissimmee River

I reported last February that the Water Management District officials were concerned that the water control structures on the Kissimmee River (C-38), C-40 and C-41 (both northwest of Lake Okeechobee) may be prone to failure if abundant rainfall occurs in the upper Kissimmee Basins this summer. This is due to the excessive head differential (water levels) on either side of the structure caused by extraordinary low lake levels.

Work is proceeding to fill the scour holes on the downstream side of the structures and should be complete by mid-July. Additionally, weirs are being constructed on C-38 and are completed on C-40 and C-41 which will hold water levels at a higher elevation on the downstream side of the structures. Holding the water at a higher level will decrease the amount of energy being produced and allowing the baffle blocks to dissipate the energy to an acceptable level to keep the scouring from occurring again.

Water control structures are gated and release water while holding the upstream water at predetermined levels. As water flows through the gate, it creates energy. This energy is greater when the upstream water level is much higher than the downstream level. The excess energy can erode the concrete baffles that dissipate energy. Excessive water velocities leaving the structure then scour a hole in the river bottom which undermines the structure.

Undermining can cause the entire structure to shift, float or topple, causing failure. If this happens upstream of additional structures, additional failures can occur in a domino effect, causing widespread damage and flooding that would greatly impact agriculture and residents.