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Politics

SFWMD Board Approves Exploratory Deep Well for Emergency Estuary Protection

December 13, 2018 - 3:00pm

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board approved a contract Thursday to drill a test Emergency Estuary Protection Well to gain further site specific scientific information on the amount of Lake Okeechobee water that can be sent into the Kissimmee River basin's Boulder Zone. 

The Boulder Zone is a cavernous area made up of sandstone and limestone approximately 3,000 feet below the earth's surface. 

The information gathered from this exploratory well is the first step to informing the board on implementing a future Emergency Estuary Protection Well program to provide interim relief to the coastal estuaries from damaging lake releases.

"This is a critical step for SFWMD and for the residents of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries," said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Federico Fernandez. "They have been crying out for relief from lake releases, not in 10 years, not in 20 years, but now. While large-scale restoration projects that provide the long-term solutions are in the works, this action will provide keen insight into justifying a larger program that would give water managers another tool in emergency situations."

The Governing Board approved drilling one exploratory Emergency Estuary Protection Well at an existing SFWMD-owned site along the Kissimmee River. After construction, the capacity of the Boulder Zone is expected to confirm that deep injection well technology can move water 3,000 feet below ground during high water emergencies as experienced by South Florida residents this past summer. 

The test well will help District scientists gather more information on the suitability of the Boulder Zone. This will help determine the capacity to hold more Emergency Estuary Protection Wells, helping reduce the need for potentially harmful releases from Lake Okeechobee to the coastal estuaries that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is forced to make for flood protection during high water emergencies.

Comments

These deep wells being used to dispose of toxic waste water will ultimately destroy the Floridan aquifer. Desalinization will become the ONLY alternative. Over-development in this state is already past the point of no return.

Those who are complaining have been asleep at the wheel for the past fifty years or so and missed all the contaminated waste that is already being pumped into the boulder zone. The contaminants in that water are so much worse. So if you want to complain, maybe focus on the more hazardous waste first.

This is one of the most monitored programs in the USA. There are over 3 billion gallons of nutrient rich water being diverted into the boulder zone each day that could and would cause great environmental damage to our estuaries and rivers without DIW's. This has been going on for over 40 years and I have not heard of any water shortages, just lots of dirty water going to tide.

Many utility companies in the State of Florida already uses the same Deep Well Injection technology to dispose of treated wastewater. This technology has been in use for decades. Do you know where the wastewater from your community goes? Contact you utility company to find out. You may be surprised.

They have no idea what they're doing, where's the oversight to stop this?

This reads like a press release just posted up.

More government bailout for the sugar industry

In what way? Do you want relief for our estuary really? Might be refreshing to open our minds to things that could help us along the coast. I am open to anything. LOK discharges are bad.

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