INNOVATIVE WETLANDS WITH NATURE AT WORK

LIVE OAK, FLA., Dec. 9, 2020 – “It’s magic to see what happens when you add water to the landscape,” said Jacqui Sulek, chapter conservation manager for Audubon Florida.

A visit to the Lake City Wetlands is magical to many who see it for the first time. Treated wastewater has helped transform the site of a 120-acre former “spray field” into the birding hot-spot and functioning wetland it is today.

The process of bringing the Lake City Wetlands to life began with a funding request through a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). It evolved through partnerships with the City of Lake City and Columbia County. In the last eight years, approximately $13 million has been invested from the state, the Suwannee River Water Management District and its partners in various projects to remove nutrients and reduce water use in the Ichetucknee Springshed.

Lake City is already seeing the results. The project is benefitting an area home to the highest concentration of first-magnitude springs in the nation. Over 31,000 pounds of nitrogen is reduced per year (a 98 percent reduction), and 1.5 million gallons -- the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools -- are recharged into the aquifer daily, benefitting water flow to the springs feeding the Ichetucknee River. 

Patrick Webster, chief professional engineer for the District’s Office of Agriculture and Environment Projects, said the District tries to focus on “priority springs,” which are those with established thresholds for water flow identified through the District’s minimum flows and minimum water levels, or MFLs. MFLs aim to help ensure water availability for the present and future, and to prevent significant harm to the area’s natural resources. After a science-based process, the priority list of MFL waterbodies is published annually and submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for review and approval.

“The ground and surface water basins are all connected in this area,” Webster said. “With the help of the wetland project, more water recharge and cleaner water is making its way into the surrounding springs.”

Read more at www.MySuwanneeRiver.com.

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