Middle St. Johns - Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Water Quality Assessment Report: Middle St. Johns
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Executive Summary
Middle St. Johns
The Water Quality Assessment Report for the Middle St. Johns Basin
is part of the implementation of the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection’s (Department) watershed management approach for restoring
and protecting water resource problems and addressing Total Maximum
Daily Load (TMDL) Program requirements. A TMDL represents the
maximum amount of a given pollutant that a waterbody can assimilate and
still meet the waterbody’s designated uses. A waterbody that does not meet
its designated uses is defined as impaired. The watershed approach, which
is implemented using a cyclical management process, provides a framework
for implementing the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act and the
1999 Florida Watershed Restoration Act (FWRA) (Chapter 99-223, Laws
of Florida).
A Status Report, published during Phase 1 of the watershed management
cycle, provided a Planning List, or preliminary identification, of
potentially impaired waterbodies in the Middle St. Johns Basin. This
Assessment Report presents the results of additional data gathered during
Phase 2 of the cycle. The report contains a Verified List of impaired waters
(Table 4.3 in Chapter 4) that has been adopted by Secretarial Order and
reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). TMDLs
must be developed and implemented for these waters, unless the impairment
is documented to be a naturally occurring condition that cannot
be abated by a TMDL or unless a management plan already in place is
expected to correct the problem. The Verified List also constitutes the
Group 2 basin-specific 303(d) list of impaired waters, so called because it is
required under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. See Noteworthy in
Chapter 1 for a description of the contents of this report, by chapter.
In the Middle St. Johns Basin, state, federal, regional, and local agencies
and organizations are making progress towards identifying problems
and improving water quality. Throughout its watershed management activities,
the Department works with these entities to support programs that are
improving water quality and restoring and protecting ecological resources.
The Department’s TMDL Program objectives will be carried out in the
basin through close coordination with key stakeholders and initiatives such
as the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD); Middle
St. Johns River Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM)
Plan; Seminole, Volusia, Orange, and Lake Counties; and Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Not only do stakeholders in the basin share responsibilities in achieving
water quality improvement objectives, they also play a crucial role in providing
the Department with important monitoring data and information
on management activities. Significant data providers in the basin include
the SJRWMD and Orange, Seminole, and Lake Counties.