The Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program legislation requires the District, in cooperation with the other coordinating agencies and local governments, to develop Watershed Protection Plans for the St. Lucie and the Caloosahatchee Estuaries. The Protection Plans are composed of three parts: a Construction Project, a Pollutant Control Program and a Research and Water Quality Monitoring Program (RWQMP) for both the St. Lucie and the Caloosahatchee Watersheds. The River Watershed Protection Plans comprising these components must be submitted to the legislature for ratification no later than January 1, 2009.
The R&WQMP for the Estuary River Watersheds are mandated by Subsections 373.4595(4)(a)3 and (4)(b)3, F.S. The RWQMP must build upon the District's existing research programs and should be sufficient to carry out, comply with, or assess the plans, programs and other responsibilities resulting from this program. The RWQMP also will assess the water volumes and timing from the Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River watersheds and their relative contributions to the timing and volume of water delivered to the estuaries.
The Planning Process
Working teams were initiated in the Fall of 2007 to begin the process of developing RWQMPs for the respective estuaries. Interested public agencies and stakeholders were invited to participate. These working teams, one for each estuary, met on a monthly basis through June 2008. Several ad-hoc meetings were also held to address specific issues such as research and/or water quality parameters.
The working team meetings generally followed the outline of the plan as follows:
Objectives of the Research & Water Quality Monitoring Plan
Water Quality Status and Trends
Briefings on ongoing research projects: Limiting Nutrient, Estuarine Turbidity Maximum and Benthic Flux Projects
Existing Water Quality Monitoring Inventory and Assessment
Existing Research and Assessment
Existing Models and Assessment
Future Research Topics
The plans build upon the South Florida Water Management District’s existing Research and Water Quality programs as well as existing programs of partnering agencies and groups. Details of the working team meetings are presented below.
Caloosahatchee Research & Water Quality Monitoring Working Team Meetings
Northern Everglades
