MANASOTA & PEACE RIVER BBDs Meeting Notebook 10-21-09.docx

W553
Coral Creek Habitat Restoration Project
Project Type SWIM
AOR(s)
Water Quality, Natural Systems
Basin(s) Peace River
Cooperator(s)
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Project Manager POWERS, STEPHANIE
Task Manager(s)
Status Ongoing
THORNTON, SHELLEY
Description
This multi-year project is a Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Program initiative consisting of the
hydrologic and habitat restoration of degraded and impacted wetlands. It is also expected to provide water quality
treatment for presently-untreated stormwater flows into the District and FDEP-owned project area. The project area is
approximately 2,600 acres. Proposed restoration of the creek includes: restoration/enhancement of historic and
man-made creek channels, intertidal, low-salinity and freshwater habitats, complementary marshes and uplands;
removal of invasive, exotic vegetation; and construction of stormwater treatment features to improve water quality for
the Charlotte Harbor. A preliminary assessment of restoration and stormwater treatment opportunities will need to be
conducted first, followed by project design and permitting, and, finally, construction. The District is the lead agency in
procuring the services of an engineering consultant and a construction contractor. The FDEP will be the entity
responsible for long-term operation and maintenance of the site. A related project was submitted by the FDOT through
the FY2008 Cooperative Funding Initiative (see Project No. W556, FDOT - Cape Haze Pioneer Trail Hydrologic
Restoration Project). The Cape Haze Pioneer Trail Hydrologic Restoration Project is expected to improve tidal flushing
in an approximately 110 acre tidal creek which has been impounded since the early 1900s due to the construction of a
railroad causeway across the East Fork of Coral Creek.
Benefits
This project will provide restoration of impacted wetlands and treatment of stormwater on District-owned lands. A
preliminary assessment of restoration and stormwater treatment opportunities will be conducted to determine the
specific acreage of wetlands restored and to estimate the amounts of pollutant removal that can be achieved.
Costs
The total estimated project budget is $1,200,500 for feasibility study, design, permitting, and construction of Phase I.
These funds are split between the Peace River Basin Board ($400,250), State SWIM ($150,250), and a State
Appropration ($250,000). The FY2009 funds will be used to evaluate and design alternatives to improve the existing
ecosystem. The FY2010 proposed project cost for construction is $400,000. At their April 2009 meeting, the Peace
River Basin Board approved amending its FY2009 budget to include reallocated State SWIM funds to cover 50
percent of the District's proposed FY2010 costs ($200,000). The remaining funds ($200,000) are included in the
Peace River Basin Board's FY2010 proposed budget. It is anticipated that additional funding during future fiscal years
will be necessary to meet all construction expenses and District staff will seek grant funding to help offset construction
costs. District funds shown in the table include staff salaries.
Additional Information
Approximately 2,600 acres of the District/FDEP-owned lands surround the East and West Forks of Coral Creek, which
flows into Charlotte Harbor near Placida, south of the Rotonda in Charlotte County. Charlotte Harbor is a SWIM
priority waterbody as well as a designated estuary of national significance as part of the National Estuary Program.
The project is consistent with the habitat restoration and water quality improvement goals of the District's SWIM Plan
for Charlotte Harbor. The project site is part of the 43,000 acre Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. The FDEP is
the entity responsible for the management of the site. The property contains a number of habitat types (e.g., tidal
creeks, mangrove swamps, salt marshes, saltterns, salt and freshwater ponds, freshwater wetlands, pine flatwoods,
scrub and other uplands) which have been impacted by anthropogenic activities. Much of the hydrology of the site has
also been impacted by ditching and dredge and fill activities that occurred as recently as the mid-1970s. Further, the
construction of a dam across the West Fork eliminated the saltwater signature from the upper half of the West Fork,
thus creating a 270 acre freshwater impoundment now dominated by cattails. It appears that a significant volume of
the stormwater runoff from the Rotunda development discharges into the West Fork without much water quality
treatment. Similarly, the East Fork also appears to receive untreated stormwater discharges from a residential area to
the north. Elevated nitrogen levels have been observed in Coral Creek by Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program
water quality studies. In addition to hydrologic and habitat restoration, it is envisioned that the restoration of this site
would incorporate some level of treatment for stormwater runoff entering the site.
020 - Peace River Basin 55