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Video: RETURN OF THE GREENMONSTER: See a series of video reportsabout the St. Johns River by the RiverKeeper
Published Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Thirsty Central Florida has plans for St. Johns
The river would lose hundreds of millions of gallons under the proposals
DAVID HUNT
Imagine the Empire State Building flooded nearly to its trademark lightning rod.
That's about how much water the St. Johns River could lose each day under plans to quench a thirsty Central Florida.
Utility managers are considering taking up to 262 million gallons daily from the St. Johns and a tributary, the OcklawahaRiver, to support a groundwater network not expected to handle population growth beyond 2013.
The idea has led to much debate over environmental and development issuesfrom Orlando, where the water is most needed, to Jacksonville, where thewater's loss could be most noticeable.
"It really is quite a domino effect. It's not like you're just pulling an amount ofwater out or turning a faucet off a little bit," said Quinton White, a JacksonvilleUniversity biologist and the school's arts and sciences dean. "This is anotherexample of man trying to harness nature. I don't think we've ever successfullydone that."
White said he sees the drawdown blending more of the Atlantic Ocean'ssaltwater into the river's already salty lower basin, killing off freshwater plantsand species. He also said the change in flow could create sediment deposits bigenough that dredging will be more frequently necessary to make way forJacksonville's cargo traffic.
Planning the drawdown are dozens of Central Florida utility managers and the St. Johns River Water Management District,a regulatory agency charged with finding a compromise between development and environmental needs.
The water management district is projecting a 4.9 percent reduction in flow, which officials say should not have significantimpacts on salt levels and sea life. Printed agency research shows the drawdown likely would increase the river's habitatfor pink shrimp while shrinking the amount of space for blue crabs.
Five conceptual plans are under discussion. If any moves forward, construction could begin by 2009. Projectedconstruction costs range between $800 million and $1.2 billion, with state tax dollars funding as much as $500 million, saidagency Water Supply Management Director Barbara Vergara.
While financial issues have become part of the debate, opponents claim the water management district is meddling withMother Nature and could be sacrificing one of Jacksonville's most precious resources. Agency officials say some of theconcerns have been alarmist.
"People get images in their minds of what it looks like out west with the Colorado River stopping in California or the RioGrande not running to the Gulf of Mexico," said James Gross, an agency senior project manager. "We're talking aboutreducing the discharge of the St. Johns River to the ocean by 4 percent. We're not talking about permitting out every dropof water."
Even at 262 million gallons each day, enough water to fill nearly 400 Olympic-size swimming pools, it may not be long untilthe region thirsts again. Vergara said the St. Johns River Water Management District has anticipated this and has beenworking on plans to desalinate ocean water for the past seven years.
The idea to treat river water has been developing since the mid-1990s, when planners were examining ways to get moredrinking water for growing St. Johns County. Vergara said drawing from the river was considered too complicated asolution in that case because of the salt levels in the river's northern sections.
In Central Florida drawing from the river is a much more sound idea, she said, because the north-flowing freshwaterpushes away south-flowing saltwater. Although not as expensive as desalination, treating river water will be more costlythan what utilities are used to, she added.
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Thirsty Central Florida has plans for St. Johns | Jacksonville.com http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090507/met_196934057.shtml
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Vergara said utilities generally spend about $1 processing 1,000 gallons of groundwater. Processing 1,000 gallons of riverwater likely will cost between $3.50 and $4.50.
Consumers will see that higher production cost in their water bills, which may promote conservation. That's an issue thewater management district already stresses in its "Think Two" campaign and Water Star Homes program.
James Orth, director of the environmental group St. Johns Riverkeeper, said he thinks the water management districtshould push harder on conservation before tapping the river.
"We haven't gone out and attacked people's use of water. It's almost immoral in my opinion," he said. "The thing thatfrightens me is once it's done, it's done. People become accustomed to this and, if we realize we're wrong, you can't justshut people's water off."
Neil Armingeon, who serves as Orth's chief river watchdog, said he doesn't believe the water management district hasgiven enough thought to potential damage to the river. He said his group is seeking a third-party environmental assessmentand may take the debate into a courtroom.
"We're still in that, 'What can you do legally,' phase," Armingeon said. "We don't know, but there's a coalition of groupsforming."
Opposition to the plan is not limited to environmentalists. The Marion County commissioners took a stand last month bytelling the water management district they felt pumping the Ocklawaha River would be more harmful than it was worth.However, the commission has no governing power over the water management district.
Orth said he questions whether the drawdown will compromise the mission of Mayor John Peyton's River Accord, a $742million cleanup plan launched last year.
Peyton spokeswoman Susie Wiles said the mayor has monitored the planning process but hasn't taken a stance.
"We've got a lot of questions, but none that nobody else doesn't have," she said.
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USD ORTH JOHN PEYTON BIOLOGIST ORLANDO ATLANTIC OCEAN SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER MAYOR JAMES GROSS CALIFORNIA GULF OF MEXICO ENVIRONMENT MARION COUNTY DEAN [email protected] (904) 359-4025 SUSIE WILES GULF OF MEXICO JACKSONVILLE RIOGRANDE
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Thirsty Central Florida has plans for St. Johns | Jacksonville.com http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090507/met_196934057.shtml
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