Northern Region - Southwest Florida Water Management District

N367
WMP - Marion - West Marion Watersheds
Project Type
AORs
Water Quality
Flood Protection
Cooperative Funding
Strategic Initiatives
Water Quality Maintenance and Improvement
Floodplain Management
Marion County
Cooperator(s)
Project Manager Ron Ferris
Task Manager(s)
Status
Proposed Coop. Funding Application
Recommendation
Fund as a 1A priority. This request is for continued funding of a multi-year funded project for the Watershed Management Plan for
West Marion County Watersheds.
Description
This is a multi-year funded project to perform the Watershed Evaluation and Watershed Management Plan elements of the
District's Watershed Management Program (WMP) for the West Marion Watersheds, which include Turner Creek, Lake Stafford
South, Bell Branch, and East Bronson watersheds. The project area is 25.4 square miles, located in the unincorporated area of
Marion County. A Watershed Management Plan provides a method to evaluate the capacity of a watershed to protect, enhance, and
restore water quality and natural systems, while achieving flood protection. The Watershed Evaluation element is the collection and
organization of detailed information such as land elevation, ditches, culverts and other stormwater management features that affect
how water moves within a watershed. The Watershed Evaluation tasks include the collection of existing data, development of the
geodatabase, Geographical Information System (GIS) processing, field reconnaissance, and development of preliminary model
features. The information is organized as a geodatabase in the GIS. The Watershed Evaluation establishes the complexity of the
watershed and provides a geodatabase that defines the watershed’s natural conveyance and storage features, and stormwater
infrastructure. The Watershed Evaluation is the foundation for the Watershed Management Plan, the next element in the Watershed
Management Program. The Watershed Management Plan tasks include watershed model parameterization, computer modeling,
floodplain analysis, peer review of floodplain results, public notification, public meeting, Governing Board approval of floodplain
results, surface water resource assessment (SWRA), establishment of level of service (LOS), and Best Management Practices
(BMP) alternative analysis. With FY2012 funding the collection of existing data, development of the geodatabase, and GIS
processing tasks of the Watershed Management Plan will be completed. Future funding may be required to complete the
remaining tasks.
Benefits
Completing elements of the District's Watershed Management Program is one of the District's Strategic Priorities for managing the
water resource, and provides information to local governments to address land use changes and stormwater management within
a specific watershed. The information developed provides the science for the District's resource management and Environmental
Resource Permitting (ERP) responsibilities. It assists local governments with their land management responsibilities by
identifying the floodplain, establishing a level of service, evaluating BMPs to address level of service deficiencies, and providing a
geodatabase and projected results from watershed model simulations for floodplain management, and water quality
management.
Costs
The projected cost for this project is $631,000 of which the District's share is $315,500 and the County's share is $315,500. For
FY2012, $95,000 is included in the Basin's budget and Marion County will contribute $95,000 for a total of $190,000. With FY2012
funding, work on the Watershed Evaluation element will begin. With FY2013 funding will be required for field reconnaissance, and
development of model features and WMPlan tasks. When each element is completed, the project cost and scope may require
refinement based on the information gathered and unforeseen circumstances. The District funding amount shown in the table
includes staff salaries.
Additional Information
The WMP includes five major elements: 1) Topographic information, 2) Watershed Evaluation, 3) Watershed Management Plan, 4)
Implementation of Best Management Practices, and 5) Maintenance of Watershed Parameters and Models. Implementing
elements of the WMP with local governments is one of the District's Strategic Priorities. The District has worked with the County to
develop an implementation schedule by watershed based on their projected funding levels. Marion County will manage this
project. A cooperative funding agreement will be developed as a multi-year funded project contingent on the approval of future
funding to complete the project. This project will require a cooperative funding request each fiscal year until completed. If
approved, this project will be ranked as a 1A project in future fiscal years. The District is a cooperating technical partner (CTP) with
FEMA, the floodplain results will be submitted to FEMA. The flood insurance rate map (FIRM) panels will be updated by FEMA
based on their schedule and budget.
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