Manasota-88 writes today about Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) in Horse and Charlie creeks in South Florida, but the situation is the same in the Santa Fe basin: the State of Florida uses the MFLs as a license to destroy our rivers and springs. Florida’s arbitrariness allows them to unabashedly allow more and more groundwater pumping to appease industry.
FDEP and the water management districts, along with the governor, all see it as their duty to appear to protect our water resources. That is why they allocate large sums in the name of the environment but the prime offenders and sources always avoid being the targets. Planned reductions such as the new MFLs, are deployed with sham public-input meetings held with much talk and rationalization, but the end result is that the flow of the rivers and springs is always reduced just a little bit more.
Each time. Little by little.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
The Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is recommending minimum flows for Horse Creek and Charlie Creek.
Horse Creek and Charlie Creek are in portions of DeSoto, Hardee and Polk counties and are two tributaries of the Peace River.
Minimum flows are limits established by the District’s Governing Board, and required by state law, to protect flowing water bodies from significant harm caused by ground and surface water withdrawals.
The Governing Board is expected to address these minimum flow recommendations in December.
ManaSota-88 is opposed to the recommended 15% significant harm threshold for the minimum flows and levels (MFL) of Horse Creek and Charlie Creek. The significant harm threshold should be set as close to 0% as possible.
Existing legal users are not expected to be impacted by the MFL for either system, therefore adopting a low significant harm threshold would be protective of the water resources for both creeks since minimum flows and levels will only apply to new permit withdrawals.
MFL’s are limits to protect flowing water bodies from significant harm caused by ground and surface water withdrawals. If the MFL is not met, then the District can implement a recovery and prevention strategy, therefore there is no need to adopt a 15% significant harm threshold.
If SWFWMD adopts a low minimum flows and levels, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to increase the MFL after they are adopted. If the environmental resource values are further impacted, not only from currently permitted water withdrawals, but additional permitted withdrawals, SWFWMD would not be able to adequately protect the fish and wildlife habitats, water quality, or estuarine resources of Charlie and Horse Creeks.
The District is considering minimum flows that will ultimately result in irreversible and needless damage to the water resources. By the time it is realized a mistake has been made, it will be too late to do anything about it.
SWFWMD’s recommended minimum flows for Horse Creek and Charlie Creek is deficient in many areas. The recommended MFL’s fail to consider the environmental cost and adverse impacts associated with the continued over permitting of the District’s consumptive use water permits. The recommended MFL’s do nothing to improve the water quality of these waterways. Both Horse Creek and Charlie Creek have been listed as impaired waters by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
There is little consideration being given in adopting a MFL for a healthy water body versus an impaired water body, nor does it appear SWFWMD has considered the future changes in land uses within the Horse Creek and Charlie Creek watersheds associated with agricultural operations, increased residential and commercial development, and the significant increase in phosphate mining operations. It is highly likely both creeks will become further impaired as these land use changes occur.
By adopting MFL’s that do not effectively implement the regulatory powers given SWFWMD, protection of water resources cannot possibly occur. It is regrettable that SWFWMD is considering minimum flows that will ultimately result in irreversible and needless damage to the water resources.
The resource protections for the creeks are based on the 10% criteria for determining surface water availability. The recommended MFL’s assume the creeks do not need 10% of its water flow at high periods to remain healthy, although it has not been established that a reduction in water flow is not going to harm a body of water.
As with the history of ground water permitting, faulty criteria are being used in making assumptions on the availability of surface water without harm to the resource.
The 10% rule and the 85% minimum flow level criteria does not protect the needs of natural systems. SWFWMD assumes the creeks are static and not dynamic systems. Creek’s flood, meander and change their locations. Land use, development patterns and property rights force the waterbed to maintain its present location, discounting the natural processes of river flooding and meandering, as a result, the upper 10% of the water flow may be critical in maintaining the long-term health of a rivers’ ecology.
The recommended minimum flows wrongly assumes there will be no damage to the water resource if the 15% significant harm threshold is implemented.
Reasonable conclusions cannot possibly support the adoption of the 15% significant harm threshold.
Additional information can be found on Horse Creek and Charlie Creek at:
