NWFWMD 2014-2015 Priority List Submittal Letter

Northwest Florida Water Management District
81 Water Management Drive, Havana, Florida 32333-4712
(U.S. Highway 90, 10 miles west of Tallahassee)
Jonathan P. Steverson
Executive Director
Phone: (850) 539-5999 • Fax: (850) 539-2777
November 14, 2014
Mr. Herschel T. Vinyard Jr., Secretary
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
3900 Commonwealth Boulevard
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000
RE: 2015 Minimum Flows and Levels Priority Waterbody List and Schedule
Dear Secretary Vinyard:
In accordance with section 373.042, Florida Statutes, the Northwest Florida Water Management
District (District) is pleased to submit, for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s
(Department) consideration, the enclosed priority list and schedule for the establishment of
minimum flows and levels (MFLs) in Northwest Florida.
The FY 2014-2015 priority list includes several notable revisions:
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the proposed rule adoption dates for all MFL water bodies have been revised per the
Department’s guidance to reflect the year immediately following completion of the technical
assessment,
the completion date of the Wakulla Spring MFL technical assessment has been accelerated
by one year,
the completion date of the Sally Ward Spring MFL technical assessment has been
accelerated by one year,
the initiation date of the Jackson Blue Spring MFL technical assessment has been
accelerated by two years,
the initiation date of the Coastal Region II MFL technical assessment has been accelerated
by one year, and
the development of an MFL for the Coastal Franklin County Floridan aquifer has been
removed.
In the Wakulla Springs, Sally Ward Spring and St. Marks River Rise groundwater contribution
areas, the installation of 14 new monitor wells and nine surface water sites are underway. The
Department’s funding of monitoring equipment and our partnership with the Florida Geological
Survey (FGS) have contributed considerably to this effort. The data collected will allow the
development of hydrologic models that represent the complex groundwater and surface water
interactions in this area. The District appreciates the Department’s assistance with the data
collection efforts.
GEORGE ROBERTS
Chair
Panama City
GARY CLARK
Chipley
JERRY PATE
Vice Chair
Pensacola
JOHN ALTER
Malone
JON COSTELLO
Tallahassee
NICK PATRONIS
Panama City Beach
GUS ANDREWS
DeFuniak Springs
BO SPRING
Port Saint Joe
The Jackson Blue Spring MFL was initiated in 2014, two years earlier than previously scheduled.
Expanded hydrologic monitoring in the basin will begin in 2015 with funding partially provided by
the Department’s Springs Protection Funding. A Work Plan that proposes a detailed scope of work
and schedule for the technical assessment is nearing completion.
The development of an MFL for the coastal Franklin County Floridan aquifer has been discontinued
in favor of a more cost-effective and applicable management strategy. The District’s Water Supply
Assessment Update (NWFWMD 2014) concluded the existing and anticipated future water sources
in Franklin and Gulf counties are sufficient to meet future needs and sustain water resources
through year 2035. Subsequently, the District determined that a Regional Water Supply Plan is no
longer needed for the area. Further, it has been determined that due to the hydrogeology and low
volume of groundwater pumpage, impacts associated with withdrawals are more local than regional
in nature, and can best be addressed through a tailored and less costly management approach, e.g.,
the District’s Consumptive Use Permitting Program.
The District, as identified earlier, has revised the proposed rule adoption dates for all MFLs
pursuant the Department’s recent guidance. Likewise, we have reviewed the potential for MFL
water bodies to be affected by withdrawals occurring in other Districts. Currently, we have not
determined that any water bodies are affected by withdrawals in the Suwannee River Water
Management District (SRWMD). Groundwater modeling to be performed as part of the MFL
technical assessments will help us to make these determinations. We will continue to coordinate
closely with SRWMD as our MFL assessments proceed.
The District continues to move forward expeditiously with MFL development. Work on five (5)
MFL water bodies is underway. During 2014, the District developed MFL Work Plans for the St.
Marks River Rise and Wakulla Springs system, and is currently completing Work Plans for Jackson
Blue Spring and the coastal Floridan aquifer in Planning Region II (Okaloosa, Santa, Rosa, and
Walton counties). In 2015, expanded hydrologic monitoring and MFL data collection will be
initiated for Jackson Blue Spring and the Region II coastal Floridan aquifer. The ambitious schedule
represents the commitment of the District to protect the region’s water resources while meeting the
current and future water supply needs of Northwest Florida.
We look forward to the Department’s review of the enclosed MFL priority list and schedule. Please
do not hesitate to contact Mr. Guy Gowens, Resource Management Division Director, at (850) 5395999 with any questions.
Sincerely,
Jonathan P. Steverson
Executive Director
JPS:kc
Enclosure (1) NWFWMD Minimum Flows and Levels Priority List 2015
cc: Mr. Drew Bartlett, FDEP
Mr. Tom Frick, FDEP
Mr. Tom Beck, FDEP
Northwest Florida Water Management District Minimum Flows and Levels Priority List 20151
Waterbody
St. Marks River Rise
Type2, 3
County
MFL
Initiation
Spr (1st)
Leon
2013
st
Estimated Completion
Technical
Rule
Assessment4
Adoption
2018
2019
Wakulla Springs
Spr (1 )
Wakulla
2013
2020
2021
Sally Ward Spring
Floridan Aquifer,
Coastal Region II
Jackson Blue Spring
Floridan Aquifer,
Coastal Bay County
Econfina Creek &
Spring complex
Deer Point Lake
Yellow River and Shoal
River
Spr (2nd)
Wakulla
Coastal Santa Rosa,
Okaloosa, Walton
Jackson
2013
2020
2021
2014
2020
2021
2014
2022
2023
Bay
2018
2023
2024
2019
2024
2025
2020
2025
2026
2021
2026
2027
A
st
Spr (1 )
A
st
nd
Spr (1 & 2 )
and R
L
R
Bay, Jackson,
Washington
Bay
Santa Rosa,
Okaloosa, Walton
Water Bodies to be scheduled in Future Years
Waterbody
Floridan Aquifer – Inland Walton
County
Sand and Gravel Aquifer
Morrison Spring
Holmes Blue Spring
Blue Hole Spring
Ponce de Leon Spring
Washington Blue & Potter Spring
Complex
Baltzell Spring group/upper
Chipola Spring complex
Holmes Creek & Spring complex
Telogia Creek
WB
Type2, 3
County(ies)
A
Walton
A
Spr (2nd)
Santa Rosa, Okaloosa
Walton
Spr (2nd)
Spr (2nd hist.)
Spr (2nd)
Holmes
Jackson
Holmes
Spr (2nd)
Washington
Spr (2nd) and R
Jackson
Spr (2nd) and R
R
Washington
Liberty, Gadsden
MFL Technical
Assessments will
be initiated as
soon as fiscal and
staffing resources
allow.
Water Bodies Subject to Regulatory Reservations
Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf,
The magnitude, duration and frequency of observed flows
Apalachicola River
Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin are reserved, essentially in total, all seasons for the
protection of fish and wildlife of the Chipola River,
Apalachicola River, associated floodplains and
Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf
Chipola River
Apalachicola Bay (40A-2.223, F.A.C.).
Footnotes
1
Priority list and schedule will be re-evaluated on an annual basis.
2
WB Type: A=aquifer, L=lake, R=river, Spr=spring (1st or 2nd magnitude).
3
All 1st magnitude springs, and 2nd magnitude springs on state lands, are required to be listed according to section 373.042, F.S.
4
It is anticipated that each proposed MFL will be submitted for scientific peer review following the technical assessment.

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