Water managers to vote on list of programs

A state-funded acquisition program with more than $100 million to spend annually, Florida Forever was created in 1999 as a way to purchase land for preservation, stormwater management and recreational uses.

The South Florida Water Management District's list will be voted on by its governing board today. The meeting will take place at the district's headquarters in West Palm Beach.

Each water management district in the state makes an annual recommendation to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and eventually Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet.

This year's district list for the Everglades includes Southwest Coast projects such as Southern Golden Gate Estates, work in Big Cypress and the Caloosahatchee Aquifer Storage and Recovery pilot project. Other projects for Naples and Estero bays will be considered for money in the non-Everglades category.

After the governing board votes on the district list, the recommendation will go to DEP for review. DEP officials rank the projects and make recommendations to the governor and Cabinet, who will make a final vote on the projects in December.

Local agencies and land managers say the district list is a good representation of what local environmental groups and government agencies want to see in this year's Florida Forever plan.

"They have a lot of good things in there," said Jim Beever, a member of the local Everglades group that makes recommendations for projects. "(The Everglades restoration) is pretty well covered. Basically we've got everything we've asked for and promoted."

Wayne Daltry, one of the main Everglades representatives for Southwest Florida, said he's happy with the list as well.

"The things we like are the initiatives for Naples Bay and Estero Bay," Daltry said. "It's nice to see Southern Golden Gate Estates on there."

Another project that Daltry said deserves attention is the Caloosahatchee River ASR pilot project. ASRs are wells that treat rainwater, pump the water down into brackish aquifers and then retrieve the water during times of drought.

Although the technology has been used for decades in various areas along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, ASR wells are still controversial.

"Either it works and we all gurgle and clap hands or it doesn't and then we know," Daltry said.

The entire water management district list can be viewed at www.sfwmd.gov/org/wrm/docs/ffwp/2003ffwp.pdf.