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

H034
Peace Creek Canal Watershed
Project Type WS&R Dev.
AOR(s)
Flood Protection, Water Quality, Natural Systems
Basin(s) General Fund (District), Peace River
Cooperator(s)
Polk County Natural Resources
Project Manager THORNTON, SHELLEY
Task Manager(s)
Status Ongoing
Description
This is a multi-year funded project to perform: 1) collection of topographic information, 2) watershed evaluation, and 3)
watershed management plan elements of the District's Watershed Management Program (WMP) for the Peace Creek
Canal Watershed. The watershed covers an area of approximately 230 square miles and is located in Polk County.
The District has identified the Upper Peace River watershed, which includes the Peace Creek Canal system, as an
area that has undergone significant land alterations including land clearing, draining and re-contouring of lands for
residential and commercial purposes, transportation, agriculture, recreation, timbering, power generation, ore and
mineral extraction, and other land uses. These activities required extensive withdrawals of groundwater that has
resulted in significant declines in the level of the Floridan aquifer and flow in the Upper Peace River. This project is to
identify projects that will restore lost basin storage, improve water quality, provide flood protection benefits and
improve natural systems. In 2005, the Governing Board and Peace River Basin Board agreed to take on the
responsibility to maintain and, where possible, improve the water conveyance/storage capabilities of the Peace Creek
Canal. One of the primary tasks includes identification of property ownership, so the District can obtain necessary
easements over the system. The District continues to provide aquatic plant maintenance in the canal and implemented
a permanent spraying schedule in FY2007. The District also continues to remove sediments in strategic reaches of the
canal. In 2007, Polk County requested cooperative funding from the District for the acquisition of 18 residential
properties along the canal that repeatedly flooded. The District provided funding ($250,000) to the County, as matching
funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, to assist in acquiring these properties. The
purchase of homes and property within floodprone areas is a Best Management Practice that is consistent with the
District's Watershed Management Program.
Benefits
The WMP 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 information developed provides the science for the District's
Environmental Resource Permitting (ERP). It assists local governments: 1) with their land management responsibilities
by establishing a level of service and developing Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address level of service
deficiencies, 2) provides a Geodatabase and projected results from watershed model simulations for floodplain
management, and 3) water quality management through the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) process for their
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements.
Costs
This is a multi-year funded project. In fiscal years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, $3,600,000 was budgeted as follows:
$1,262,500 from Peace River Basin, $1,262,500 from Governing Board, $950,000 from State appropriations and
$125,000 from the State Surface Water Restoration Fund. The proposed budget for FY2009 is approximately
$680,000, with approximately $340,000 from both the Governing Board and the Peace River Basin Board. District
funds shown in the table include staff salaries.
Additional Information
The WMP includes five major elements: 1) collection of topographic information, 2) watershed evaluation, 3)
watershed management plan, 4) implementation of BMPs, and 5) maintenance of watershed parameters and models.
With prior year funding the topographic information, watershed evaluation, portions of the watershed management
plan, and immediate maintenance were completed. A cooperative funding agreement with Polk County was developed
for the purchase of the 18 homes in the Peace River Estates subdivision.
020 - Peace River Basin 196