Brighton Reservation MonitoringAbstract: The primary purpose of Project BRM is to address the mandates specified above, particularly the agreement the SFWMD has with the tribes to address water quality issues. The Brighton Seminole Reservation has its own internal water quality-monitoring program. Project BRM was instituted because the Reservation began detecting spikes in the water coming off their land and it did not appear to be from any internal practices. Therefore, one goal of the project is to determine the source (s) of total phosphorous measured by the Tribe at monitoring stations in the primary and secondary canals of the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation. Another goal for this project involves investigating potential water quality changes within the reservation boundaries, in response to the integration of water supplies from Lake Okeechobee. Specific objectives include assessing the quality and quantity of water delivered to the reservation from Lake Okeechobee via pump stations G207 & G208, assessing the quality and quantity of water delivered to the reservation via the C-40 and C-41 canals, and assessing water sources entering and leaving the reservation.; Project Start Date: 05/23/2002
Lake Okeechobee Littoral ZoneAbstract: The purpose of OLIT is to gather baseline data for the development of management strategies and research objectives for Lake Okeechobee, estimate long-term phosphorus loading to Lake Okeechobee; identify trends in total phosphorus and other water quality variables that are indicators of the Lake's health over time; and provide a water quality database for: a. complying with monitoring requirements of the Lake Okeechobee Operating Permit #50-0679349 issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) b. determining effectiveness of the implementation of basin management plans in reducing nutrient loadings into the lake as specified in the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act of 1987 c. determining long and short-term trends necessary to identify potential problem areas in terms of water quality degradation, nutrient loadings, and tracking eutrophication of the lake d. applying eutrophication models to verify and refine the nutrient load targets for the lake and rank its trophic status. The primary focus of the OLIT Project's design is the estimation of long-term phosphorus loading to Lake Okeechobee and the identification of trends in total phosphorus and other water quality variables that are indicators of the Lake's health over time.; Project Start Date: 1996
Biscayne Bay Water Quality Monitoring NetworkAbstract: Project BISC serves the mandates listed above. The District and DERM initiated and maintained this monitoring program to identify areas of ecological concern and provide a clear understanding of baseline conditions using both systematic and investigative monitoring. The main purpose has been to characterize water quality spatially and seasonally, and to detect long-term trends. Additionally, the program has also been used to identify specific hotspots, develop and monitor comprehensive stormwater improvement programs, develop non-degradation criteria, and develop freshwater response relationships. An objective of the program is to maintain the long-term dataset for characterization of water quality through various climatic cycles, events and watershed changes. DERM data is used to address Dade County water quality permitting issues and support various non-degradation and TMDL planning activities for Biscayne Bay. As such, the focus of DERM's sampling is in canals; DERM's Bay sampling program is on receiving waters with a focus on channels. Several DERM stations are named in RECOVER's Monitoring and Assessment Plan (MAP) as key stations for assessment of environmental response to the CERP. FIU data is used to support long-term water quality assessments and planning. The FIU stations purposely avoid sampling in channels in Northern Biscayne Bay. Funding for the DERM program comes from the State of Florida through the District, while funding for FIU originates with the District. The monitoring program includes all of Biscayne Bay from the Broward County line to U.S. Highway 1 at Key Largo and tributaries to Biscayne Bay. Several District canals empty into Biscayne Bay. Monitoring sites are fixed and are denser in the northern area of the bay than the southern area. The program covers roughly 1400 square miles. Two water quality-monitoring contracts support the District's management of the Biscayne Bay region, one with Miami-Dade DERM and one with FIU. The FIU Biscayne Bay project was optimized during a previous effort. District staff suggested that the FIU information be evaluated with the DERM data for this BISC optimization. In addition to spatial redundancies, frequency of sampling and the parameters that are sampled by both organizations should be compared to determine if redundancies or data gaps exist.; Project Start Date: 1978 began, was updated in 1995
2006
Conservation Area Inflows and OutflowsAbstract: CAMB is essentially a selection of stations that have various mandates and have all been grouped together into one project based on their locations throughout the WCAs to address those mandates. The CAMB program was created to comply with water quality monitoring requirements of the Everglades National Park Memorandum of agreement between the National Park Service, District and Corps. The data collected under this program are used to determine the effectiveness of basin management plans to reduce nutrient loading to the WCAs and to establish nutrient budgets for the WCAs. The monitoring of nutrients and other water quality parameters are also used to quantify the effects of inflows on the ecology of marshes.; Project Start Date: December, 1977