South Florida Water Management District: November 2008 Ag Highlights

‘River of Grass’ Acquisition Update

Negotiation details are finally starting to emerge after several months of behind doors meetings, environmental assessments, and extensive appraisals.  Contrary to numerous press reports, a final deal has not been struck between the two parties and the governing board is just beginning to review the appraisals and assessments.

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Governor Crist’s office announced that the acreage being negotiated has dropped from 187,000 acres to 182,500 acres.  This change takes all of the assets out of negotiation except farm land and water control structures that are associated with the farm land.  The physical assets such as the sugar mill and refinery, citrus processing plant, rolling stock and railroad will remain in the ownership of U.S. Sugar Corporation.

The lease-back provision on land has also been changed from five years to seven years according to a recent governing board presentation.  The lease-back provision allows U.S. Sugar Corporation to continue farming on the land purchased by the Water Management District for a seven year period.

For farming and community interests in the Everglades Agricultural Area, the new information does not relieve any questions regarding agricultural and community sustainability; in fact it may add to the list of concerns.  When an agricultural commodity is grown in a specific region, there is a mass balance between the acreage under production and the associated operations that process the agricultural product.  Likewise, companies that supply inputs of materials and labor (i.e. local small ‘mom and pop operations’ and local residents) are part of the mass balance equation.  When a substantial amount of acreage is removed from production, the balance is upset.  Additionally, there is a critical minimum amount of acreage needed to sustain the supply inputs.  If the area drops below this amount, all agriculture in the region is at risk.

Water officials and environmental groups often note that agriculture is the best neighbor that the natural environment can have.  That being said, the governing board must work diligently to make sure that agriculture can remain viable in this region.  

The governing board will have a full-day meeting on the ‘River of Grass’ negotiations on Tuesday, December 2nd in their headquarters in West Palm Beach.

Florida Farm Bureau Closely Monitoring New Water Reservation Rule

The South Florida Water Management District is drafting the first Water Reservation Rule for a Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) project.  The Picayune Strand in Collier County has been the focus for rule language that will provide the regulatory framework for water supply permits.  The goal of the rule is to accomplish this within the bounds of Florida state law on water reservations.  The concern of Florida Farm Bureau is potential impacts on surrounding agriculture.  Additionally, the process to develop this rule will be the used on future rule development so it is vital to get it right from the start.

Florida Farm Bureau is always concerned about additional burdens that limit the success of growing crops and livestock.  These burdens can come in many forms including costly regulations for permitting or decreased available water.  In either instance, the farmer can easily cross the line that makes growing crops or livestock cost prohibitive.  

Florida Farm Bureau to Provide Input to Lake Okeechobee Schedule

Florida Farm Bureau has recently been notified the by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that we will now be included on conference calls between the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District.  These calls are a means to provide input to the operations of structures that control lake levels within the parameters of the Lake Okeechobee schedule.  Farmers and ranchers north of the lake are the largest contributors of water to the system.  In addition, farmers south of the lake have the ability to use, store and purify large quantities of water.

The water level of Lake Okeechobee is controlled by an interim schedule that was implemented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in May of this year.  This schedule varies by season but overall, the new schedule holds the water level lower than the previous schedule due to ongoing concerns about the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding the lake.  The schedule is an attempt by the Corps to balance water supply, environmental concerns and safety.

The current schedule is considered ‘interim’ because it will be modified as repair work proceeds on the Herbert Hoover Dike and additional storage comes online.  The first time that the schedule may be modified will be between 2010 and 2012.  Repairs on the dike will continue to 2025 – 2030 depending on federal funding of the project.

Lake Okeechobee Levels Holding Steady after Tropical Storm Faye

Tropical Storm Faye inundated the State with water over several days in the third week in August.  This resulted in a lake level rise in Lake Okeechobee of approximate four feet over the following weeks.  The lake ended up at just over 15 feet in elevation which is considered in the normal ‘operating’ range for the summer months.  Due to the concerns over a storm that passed south of Florida and the remaining months of hurricane season, low level releases were made over several months to both the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers.  The current lake level is 14.62 feet.  

Current projections within 75% probability place the lake between 11.5 and 13.5 feet by the end of the dry season (December – May).