Lilly/WaterTax/Groveland/Phosphorous/SOS/BCWaterNews/SB 274/ManateeHeroes/Nestle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another permit filed to take water from Lilly Springs By Rachael Anne Ryals Herald Staff Writer HIGH SPRINGS – Just as one proposed bottled water plant's water use permit has been officially denied by the local water district, another permit to withdraw water has been sought.

read more:  http://highspringsherald.com/articles/2009/04/24/news/news02.txt

 

 

Public Records, SRWMD permit application (with maps) for Lilly Springs:

ftp://ftp.srwmd.state.fl.us/pub/permitting/WUP09-0017%20Lilly%20Springs%20Bottled%20Water/

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From: City of Groveland on behalf of City of Groveland
Sent: Sat 4/18/2009 3:35 AM
To: Renick, Elaine
Subject: Hearing highlights

 

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PRESS RELEASE (for immediate release)

 

New Insights on the Ecology of Springs!

If you are concerned about the increasing algae overgrowth in many North Florida springs and rivers, then you will want to attend this meeting:  Dr. Matthew Cohen, Assistant Professor of Forest Water Resources and Watershed Systems at the University of Florida, will be giving a presentation titled "Reevaluating the Role of Nitrogen Enrichment in the Ecological Decline of Florida Springs".  It will be held on Thursday April 30 at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Ft. White Community Center in Fort White, Florida. This free event open to the public is hosted by Save Our Suwannee, Inc. (a not for profit 501 (c) 3).  There will be light refreshments provided afterward.

More about the presentation:  Most people presume that a high the nitrogen level in many springs is solely responsible for those springs increasing algae overgrowth.  However, it may not be that simple!  Dr. Cohen contributed to an extensive literature review and assessment of current knowledge on the subject as part of a grant to the University of Florida from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.            (http://www.dep.state.fl.us/springs/reports/files/UF_SpringsNutrients_Report.pdf).     One of the conclusions from that review was that, in studies where other water quality indicators were measured, components like phosphorus and dissolved oxygen were at least as predictive of system changes as was nitrogen. 

More about the speaker: Dr. Cohen received his M.E. in 1999 and Ph.D. in 2003 through the UF Center for Wetlands.  He has been an intern with the World Agroforestry Center in Kenya, and done research on wetland systems, large-area soil and water assessment technologies, and watershed management while at UF’s Center for Environmental Policy and Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory. He is currently an affiliate faculty in the Soil and Water Science Department, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and Center for Environmental Policy at UF. Dr. Cohen has significant experience working on watershed related issues including helping develop a hydrologic observatory in the Suwannee River basin. He joined the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation in March 2006, where he studies watershed hydrology, or the way in which water moves through the landscape, and biogeochemistry, the chemical and biological processes that take place in soils and elsewhere in the environment.      For more information please contact Joseph Prenger, SOS Board Member, at 352-246-3981.

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SB 274

Monday, April 20, 2009

 

read more:  http://floridaenvironments.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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> Bell Springs Manatee Rescue
>
> On April 14, I received a call from Fanning Springs State Park. I was
> told that for the last several days local residents have been calling
> the park and other state agencies to report that up to four manatees
> were trapped in Bell Springs in Gilchrist County.
>
> After several hours of observation, I determined that there were five
> animals trapped in the spring run. None showed any sign of distress but
> all displayed frustration or fear. The area in which they were trapped
> was a half of a mile from the springhead and it was doubtful that the
> 50-acre area had any SAV (Submerged Aquatic Vegetation) due to the algae
> that has killed the SAV in the last thirty-five miles of the Suwannee
> River.
>
> I recognized four of the manatees as belonging to the Suwannee River
> herd. I recognized a cow with a calf by the prop scar that ran
> diagonally across her tail from left to right. She was one of 11 cows
> that gave birth in the Fanning Springs pasture area last November.
>
> I also saw two other herd members. One, whose name I do not have off
> hand, is distinguished by her tail, a third of which is missing on the
> right side. The other animal I recognized was Slot Tail. He has a
> 11-inch-deep by 6-inch-wide rectangular slot in the center of the end of
> his tail. I could not get close enough to the fifth manatee to clearly
> see any identifying markings in the dark brown water.
>
> Four large trees had fallen across Bell Springs Run in a heap,
> overlapping and interlacing the tops of each tree and making passage to
> the river impossible for the manatees. This area of the spring run is 17
> feet deep and the tree tops extended from the bottom to fifteen feet
> above the water line. Although it was a low tide, the water was rising
> due to the flood. The crest is predicted to bring two to four more feet
> of water. The manatees would need fifteen feet of more water in order to
> escape this trap.
>
> A small crowd had gathered, and people were coming and going with many
> showing no concern about the trapped manatees other than to ask a
> question or to try to tell a manatee story. All they were interested in
> was seeing the rising water. Very few showed genuine concern about the
> trapped animals.
>
> One of these was Doyle Frierson of Gulf Coast Utility Service of Cross
> City in Dixie County. He was on his way home but stopped to see what was
> going on. I showed him the manatees, the blockage in the run and
> explained the seriousness of the situation. Both of us agreed that,
> because of the rising water, something needed to be done quickly while
> there was still daylight and access to the blockage.
>
> After a short discussion, I told him I planned to put on my wet suit,
> launch my boat and, using my emergency folding tree saw and ax, try to
> clear a path for the manatees to escape. He told me to wait until he got
> back in about 20 minutes and drove off.
>
> Just as I was gearing up to launch my boat, Frierson returned with his
> son, Matt, and one of his crew, Michael Perez. They brought with them a
> Kubota 4X4 front end loader, a skiff with a 20-horsepower Honda, a
> chainsaw, and plenty of rope and chain.
>
> We quickly got to work. As we were dragging the first of the tree tops
> toward land, two Iron Workers – brothers Jeremy and Justin Purcell, who
> are working on the power plant in Levy County – were returning home to
> Gilchrist County. They stopped, and after I explained the situation,
> they pitched in unbidden to help.
>
> Although the tide was going out, the river was still rising due to the
> flood. Everyone was wading the rising water, sometimes chest deep, but
> they stayed until the job was done. After four hours of hard work and
> unparalleled silent cooperation – the kind only possible between men who
> know how to work – a passageway large enough for the boat to pass
> through was cut and cleared. That would be ample for manatee passage.
> Doyle and I believed that had we been one day later, the water would
> have been too high to attempt this rescue. A visit to the area the next
> morning proved that to be true.
>
> That evening, six men discovered five trapped manatees and rescued them
> from the flooding Suwannee River. They used their own equipment on their
> own time and risking their lives by their own choosing. Each of these
> individuals saw their duty, took the responsibility on their own accord
> and preformed in a manner that some would call heroic. In the
> Tri-Counties of the Lower Suwannee River, rugged individualism is still
> a way of life for some of us.
>
> There is nothing heroic about doing your duty. And for the majority of
> those who walked away or drove by without care or concern, you have my
> sympathy for holding your manhood so cheaply.
>
> /*Potestas Vigeo Per Adversum*/
>
> Stan Meeks
>
> Suwannee Riverkeeper
>
> suwanneeriverkeeper@earthlink.net <mailto:suwanneeriverkeeper@earthlink.net>
>
> PO Box 1669
>
> Old Town, FL 32680

 

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Dear Carolyn, This April Fools' Day kicked off a national week of action calling on Nestlé to stop fooling with community water supplies. Send a message to CEO Kim Jeffery today and join the thousands that have already taken action. For years Nestlé has run roughshod over community and environmental concerns when taking and bottling water for brands like Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ice Mountain and Arrowhead. Nestlé is now looking to increase the number of bottling facilities it owns and operates across the country, in places like McCloud, California and Salida, Colorado. Tell the world's largest bottler to stop wresting water resources from local control. This month, Nestlé will try to avoid responsibility for its practices by trumpeting its greenwashing initiatives at its annual shareholders' meeting. Let Kim Jeffery know we see through the ad campaigns and the sponsorships. And, once you've signed the petition, submit a photo holding a sign or pouring out Nestlé brand bottled water on our Flickr page (click here for quick, easy instructions). The best photos will be featured on our site and the photo contest winner will receive a free reusable Think Outside the Bottle water bottle. Onward, Deborah Lapidus National Organizer, Think Outside the Bottle   Can't click on any of the links above? Simply paste this web address into your browser: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2215/t/8971/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=782

Friday, April 24, 2009 Hello, Water resources professionals are at the forefront of a changing social and economic climate, and their ideas and expertise are needed now more than ever. That is the focus of our Earth Day Special Edition. We'll take a look at water (of course), as well as sustainability, green energy, and what's ahead in the years to come. Just aim your browser at http://www.bcwaternews.com/EarthDay/2009/home.html. It's all part of our bonus coverage that supplements your regular issue of the Florida Water News. In this week's news, days before Easter, a backhoe began to drop dirt back into a canal dug a half-century ago near Lake Winder to drain the St. Johns River floodplain for farming. The leveling of a 2.5-mile dike alongside the canal should resurrect this stretch of the river within months. Think of this project as a "rain-garden concept" with an environmental twist. A barren stretch of land tucked in the rear of Lincoln High School's campus has been transformed into the state's first stormwater treatment facility at a public school. And released on Earth Day, a new web site for boaters uses interactive video, animation, audio and graphics covering everything from how to avoid tearing up sea grass to techniques for catching and releasing fish alive. Here are a few of the other stories making news across the state: Surprise departure could shift voting margin for U.S. Sugar deal Miami to tap stimulus for $200 million smart grid Tampa turns to reserves to make ends meet UCF to showcase renewable and sustainable energy projects Living green: Former Sarasota landfill is now a park To see the latest Florida Water News, click the icon at the top of the page or point your browser at: http://www.bcwaternews.com/floridawaternews/fwn-424.html Plenty of news from around the world, too, updated twice daily. Welcome to our newest readers: Sunil Pancholy, director, Center for Water Quality, Florida A&M University Nathaniel Bailey, environmental manager, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, president, Our Santa Fe River, Ft. White Brian McBride, account manager, Hudson Pump & Equipment, Kissimmee Don't forget to check out BCWaterJobs.com, the industry's No. 1 site for water and wastewater job opportunities across the United States and Canada. BC Water Jobs is a service of Florida Water News and helps us bring this publication to you every week, free of charge. Have a great weekend! Ron Ash Editor, Florida Water News Brown and Caldwell Help spread the word about Florida Water News — tell a friend or colleague about us, or send along your favorite water-related photos or news tips.