To establish minimum flows and levels for the Southern Water Use Caution Area for the Most Impacted Area, the upper Peace River and Lakes Jackson, Letta, Lotela and Little Lake Jackson on the Highlands County Ridge and Lakes Clinch, Eagle, McLeod ...  


  • RULE NO: RULE TITLE
    40D-8.041: Minimum Flows
    40D-8.624: Guidance and Minimum Levels for Lakes
    40D-8.626: Minimum Aquifer Levels in Hillsborough County North of State Road 60, and Pasco and Pinellas Counties
    PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To establish minimum flows and levels for the Southern Water Use Caution Area for the Most Impacted Area, the upper Peace River and Lakes Jackson, Letta, Lotela and Little Lake Jackson on the Highlands County Ridge and Lakes Clinch, Eagle, McLeod and Wales in Polk County.
    SUMMARY: Minimum flows proposed for the upper Peace River to ensure that the minimum hydrologic requirements of fish and natural systems associated with the upper segment of the river are met and not jeopardized by withdrawals. The upper segment of the river includes that area between Bartow and Zolfo Springs. The minimum flows are based on the hydrologic requirements of biological communities associated with the upper Peace River system, as well as considering non-consumptive uses including fishing, wildlife observation, general recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, canoeing and boating. The minimum flows will be supported by District water development projects.
    The District also proposes minimum low and minimum high lake levels, as well as the ten-year flood, and high and low guidance levels for Lakes Jackson, Letta, Lotela and Little Lake Jackson on the Highlands County Ridge and Lakes Clinch, Eagle, McLeod and Wales in Polk County. The High Minimum Lake Level is the elevation that a lake's water levels are required to equal or exceed 10 percent of the time on a Long-term basis. The Minimum Lake Level is the elevation that the lake's water levels are required to equal or exceed 50 percent of the time on a Long-term basis. The High and Low Guidance Levels and the Ten-year Flood Guidance Level are advisory guidelines for lakeshore development of, including water dependent structures and operation of water management structures.
    A minimum aquifer level is proposed for the coastal portion of the Southern Water Use Caution Area in southern Hillsborough, Manatee and northern Sarasota counties. The minimum aquifer level is to stabilize regional ground water level declines so that long-term management efforts can slow the rate of regional saltwater intrusion in the area.
    SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: A Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost, final draft dated March 14, 2006, has been prepared addressing the impact of the proposed minimum flows and levels, and the rules proposed simultaneously in 40D-2 and 40D-80 to implement the minimum flows and levels within the Southern Water Use Caution Area (the "SWUCA SERC"). The items to be addressed in a Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost as set forth in section 120.541(1)(c), F.S., are included in the SWUCA SERC. The SWUCA SERC is available upon request to the District.
    Any person who wishes to provide information regarding the statement of estimated regulatory costs, or to provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
    Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
    SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 373.044, 373.113, 373.171 FS.
    LAW IMPLEMENTED: 373.036, 373.0361, 373.0395, 373.042, 373.0421, 373.086 FS.
    IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE SCHEDULED AND ANNOUNCED IN FAW.
    THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Karen A. Lloyd, Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL 34604-6899, (352)796-7211, extension 4651.

    THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

    40D-8.041 Minimum Flows.

    (1) through (3) No change.

    (4)  Minimum Flows for upper Peace River.

    (a) Over the last several decades there has been a significant decline in flow in the upper Peace River, especially during the dry season.  One of the major contributing factors is the elimination of baseflow as a result of ground water withdrawals that have lowered the potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan aquifer.  In addition, surface-water drainage alterations, reduction in surface storage, long-term cyclical declines in rainfall and karst openings in the riverbed have played significant roles in reducing flow in the upper Peace River.

    (b)  The minimum flows are to ensure that the minimum hydrologic requirements of fish and natural systems associated with the river are met and not jeopardized by withdrawals.  At this time only Minimum Low Flows are being established. It is anticipated that mid- and high-minimum flows will be established once the controlling factors that affect those flows are better understood.

    (c)  The Minimum Low Flows for the upper Peace River are set forth in Table 8-8 below.  The Minimum Low Flows are established based on the lowest acceptable flow under the lowest anticipated flow conditions.  This is determined by providing for the hydrologic requirements of biological communities associated with the upper Peace River system, as well as considering non-consumptive uses including fishing, wildlife observation, general recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, canoeing and boating.  This determination uses professional experience and judgment to identify key habitats and hydrologic requirements for specific biotic assemblages.  This


    approach results in establishing Minimum Low Flows for the upper Peace River based on maintaining the higher of the water elevations needed for fish passage (0.6 feet or 7.2 inches) or the lowest wetted perimeter inflection point (as much stream bed coverage as possible for the least amount of flow) as set forth below.  A ninety-five percent annual exceedance occurs when the flow is greater than the Minimum Low Flow at least ninety-five percent of the days, or 350 days, of a calendar year.

     

    Table 8-8  Minimum Flows for the upper Peace River

    Location/Gage

    Minimum Flow (cubic feet per second)

    Bartow / USGS Bartow River Gage No. 02294650

    Annual 95% exceedance flow of 17 cfs

    Ft. Meade / USGS Ft. Meade River Gage No. 02294898

    Annual 95% exceedance flow of 27 cfs

    Zolfo Springs / USGS Zolfo Springs River Gage No. 02295637

    Annual 95% exceedance flow of 45 cfs

     

     

    (d)  Compliance – The Minimum Low Flow is achieved when the measured flow rate is at or above the Minimum Low Flow for three consecutive years.  Once the Minimum Low Flow has been achieved for three consecutive years, the Minimum Low Flow is not met when the measured flow rate is below the Minimum Low Flow for two out of ten years commencing the year after achievement.  If the two years below the minimum flow occur anytime before the ten year period is complete, the upper Peace River is deemed below its Minimum Low Flow and the three consecutive years above the Minimum Low Flow is again required for compliance.  Once the ten-year period is complete, the period will roll forward one year each year.

    Specific Authority 373.044, 373.113, 373.171 FS. Law Implemented 373.036, 373.0361, 373.0395, 373.042, 373.0421 FS. History– Readopted 10-5-74, Amended 12-31-74, Formerly 16J-0.15, 40D-1.601, Amended 10-1-84, 8-7-00, 2-6-06,_________.

    40D-8.624 Guidance and Minimum Levels for Lakes

    (1) through (12) No change. 

    (13) Levels for lakes established during or after August 7, 2000, are set forth in the following table. After the High Minimum Lake Level and Minimum Lake Level elevation for each lake is a designation indicating the Method used, as described in subsection 40D-8.624(7), F.A.C., to establish the level. Compliance with the High Minimum and Minimum Lake Levels is determined pursuant to paragraphs (6)(b) and (7)(b) above. Guidance Levels established prior to August 7, 2000, are set forth in Table 8-3 in subsection 40D-8.624(14), F.A.C., below.

     

    Table 8-2 Minimum and Guidance Levels Established During or After August 7, 2000. Levels are elevations, in feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.

    Location by County and Basin

    Name of Lake and Section, Township and Range Information

    Ten-Year Flood Guidance Level

    High Guidance Level

    High Minimum Lake Level

    Minimum Lake Level

    Low Guidance Level

    (a) – (h)

    No change

     

     

     

     

     

     

    (i) In Highlands County Within the Peace River Basin

    RESERVED

    Jackson Lake

    S-30 T-24S R-29E

    104.1

    102.6

    102.4

    (Cat 3)

    101.3

    (Cat 3)

    100.2

     

    Letta Lake

    S-31 T-33S R-29E

    100.5

    99.5

    99.5

    (Cat 3)

    98.4

    (Cat 3)

    97.1

     

    Little Jackson Lake

    S-06   T-35S   R-29E

    104.1

    102.6

    102.4

    (Cat 3)

    101.3

    (Cat 3)

    100.2

     

    Lotela Lake

    S-26   T-33S   R-28E

    108.5

    107.5

    106.8

    (Cat 3)

    105.7

    (Cat 3)

    105.0

    (j) – (y)

    No change

     

     

     

     

     

     

    (z) In Polk County Within the Peace River Basin

    RESERVED

    Clinch Lake

    S-31   T-31S   R- 8E

    107.4

    105.5

    105.5

    (Cat 3)

    104.4

    (Cat 3)

    103.1

     

    Eagle Lake

    S-01   T-29S   R-25E

    131.3

    129.6

    129.0

    (Cat 3)

    127.9

    (Cat 3)

    127.2

     

    McLeod Lake

    S-07   T-29S   R-26E

    133.3

    129.4

    129.4

    (Cat 3)

    128.3

    (Cat 3)

    127.0

     

    Wales Lake

    S-01   T-30S   R-27E

    114.1

    ND

    107.7

    (Cat 3)

    106.6

    (Cat 3)

    ND

    (aa) – (cc)

    No change.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


     

    (14) Guidance Levels established for lakes prior to August 7, 2000, are set forth in the following table:

     

    Table 8-3 Guidance Water Levels adopted prior to August 7, 2000

    Location of Impoundment by County and Basin

    Ten-Year Flood Guidance Level in Feet Above Mean Sea Level (msl)

    High Level in Feet Above Mean Sea Level (msl)

    Low Level in Feet Above Mean Sea Level (msl)

    Extreme Low Level in Feet Above Mean Sea Level (msl)

    (a) – (h)

    No change.

     

     

     

     

    (i) In Highlands County Within the Peace River Basin

    LAKES

    Sec Twsp Rng

     

     

     

     

    Jackson, Lake

    30 34S 29E

    103.20

    103.00

    100.00

    98.00

    Letta, Lake

    31 33S 29E

    100.00

    100.00

    97.00

    95.00

    Little Lake Jackson

    6 35S 29E

    103.20

    103.00

    100.00

    98.00

    Lotela, Lake

    26 33S 28E

    106.60

    108.50

    105.00

    104.00

    (j) – (y)

    No change.

     

     

     

     

    (z) In Polk County Within the Peace River Basin

     

     

     

     

    Clinch, Lake

    31 31S 28E

    108.00

    106.75

    104.00

    102.50

    Eagle Lake

    1 29 25E

    131.00

    130.75

    128.50

    126.50

    Lake McLeod

    7 29 26E

    133.10

    132.00

    129.50

    128.00

    Wales, Lake

    S01 T30 R27

    114.10

    112.50

    110.00

    108.00

    (aa) – (cc)

    No change.

     

     

     

     

     


    Specific Authority 373.044, 373.113, 373.171 FS. Law Implemented 373.036, 373.0361, 373.0395, 373.042, 373.0421, 373.086 FS.  History–New 6-7-78, Amended 1-22-79, 4-27-80, 10-21-80, 12-22-80, 3-23-81, 4-14-81, 6-4-81, 10-15-81, 11-23-81, 1-5-82, 3-11-82, 5-10-82, 7-4-82, 9-2-82, 11-8-82, 1-10-83, 4-3-83, 7-5-83, 9-5-83, 10-16-83, 12-12-83, 5-8-84, 7-8-84, 12-16-84, 2-7-85, 5-13-85, 6-26-85, 11-3-85, 3-5-86, 6-16-86, Formerly 16J-8.678, Amended 9-7-86, 2-12-87, 9-2-87, 2-18-88, 6-27-88, 2-22-89, 3-23-89, 9-26-89, 7-26-90, 10-30-90, 3-3-91, 9-30-91, 10-7-91, 7-26-92, 3-1-93, 5-11-94, 6-6-96, 2-23-97, 8-7-00, 1-8-04, 12-10-04, 6-05-05,________.

    40D-8.626 Minimum Aquifer Levels in Hillsborough County North of State Road 60, and Pasco and Pinellas Counties.

    (1) Hillsborough County North of State Road 60, and Pasco and Pinellas Counties Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Levels.  Salt Water Intrusion within this area has not been regional in nature, but is of localized concern in some coastal areas.  The District has chosen the North Pinellas, Southwest Pasco and Northwest Hillsborough Counties region as the priority area for the establishment of Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Levels (“SWIMAL”) to prevent regional seawater intrusion because of the availability of data and the potential for future intrusion.  The SWIMALs for the Upper Floridan aquifer shall be established as follows:

    (1) through (3) renumbered  (a) through (c) No change.

    (2) SWUCA Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Level.

    (a) The District has determined that ground water withdrawals in the SWUCA have contributed to water level declines that advance saltwater intrusion.  The coastal portion of the SWUCA in southern Hillsborough, Manatee and northern Sarasota counties (the Most Impacted Area or MIA) is a priority area for the establishment of minimum aquifer levels because of its proximity to the saltwater interface and the large effect on interface movement caused by lowering of the potentiometric surface in this area.  The Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Level (SWIMAL) is established to stabilize regional water level declines so that long-term management efforts can slow the rate of regional saltwater intrusion in the MIA.  This is based on an average value to address the regional nature of the problem and avoids the potential for localized lowering of a minimum level.

    (b)  The SWIMAL over the surface of the MIA is 13.1 feet (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 or NGVD 1929).  The SWIMAL is derived using the method set forth in (2)(c) below.

    (c)  The reference period for which the SWIMAL is calculated is the period 1990 through 1999.  Ten wells from within or adjacent to the MIA (Table 8-5), are used to determine the minimum level.  The annual average elevation for each of the years 1990 through 1999 is established utilizing monthly water level data for each of the wells.  The annual averages over the period are then used to calculate the decadal average for the period.  The 1990-99 average Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric surface of the MIA is constructed by calculating the average of these annual average values weighted spatially using the Thiessen polygon methodology.  The resulting Minimum Level over the surface of the MIA is 13.1 feet (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929).

    Table 8-5: Wells utilized to determine the Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Level.

     

    Site

    Number

    Sequence Number

    Site

    Name

    564

    0

     KIBLER DEEP

    87

     

     ROMP 123 Hawthorn/Ocala HAWTHORN/OCALA

    10914

    0

     ROMP 50 TAMPA/OCALA

    10883

    0

     ROMP TR 10-2 TAMPA

    287

    0

     ROMP TR 7-1 TAMPA

    10926

     

     

    0

     ROMP TR 7-4 Suwannee/Ocala SUWANNEE/OCALA

    10920

    0

    ROMP TR 8-1 Upper Avon Park PARK

    10909

    1

     ROMP TR 9-3 Ocala/Avon Park

    561

    0

     SARASOTA 9 DEEP

    456

    0

     VERNA T 0-4

     

     

    (d)   Implementation of The SWUCA Salt Water Intrusion Minimum Aquifer Level – The SWIMAL shall be used to gauge the status of the ground water resource with respect to


    saltwater intrusion in the region.  Determining the status of the rate of movement of the saltwater interface shall be based on comparison of the average Floridan aquifer water level over the MIA with the Floridan aquifer minimum level over ten‑year moving windows of time. The ten‑year average water level for a particular year shall be calculated as the average water level for that year and the previous nine years.  The process of calculating the ten-year average is the same as described in section (c) above for calculating the minimum level.

    (e) Compliance – The objective of the District's management efforts is for the ten‑year moving annual average water level to fluctuate in a range at or above the minimum level.  The minimum level is achieved if the ten‑year moving annual – average water level has fluctuated at or above the minimum level for a minimum of five consecutive years.  Once the minimum level is achieved, the minimum level is no longer met when the ten-year moving annual average water level falls below the minimum level for more than two consecutive years.  Then, the five consecutive years above the minimum level is again required for compliance.

    Specific Authority 373.044,373.113, 373.171 FS. Law Implemented 373.036, 373.0361, 373.0395, 373.042, 373.0421, 373.086 FS. History–New  8-7-00, Amended _________.


    NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Karen A. Lloyd, Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL 34604-6899, (352)796-7211, extension 4651.
    NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSON WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
    DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: March 28, 2006
    DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: July 15, 2004; October 18, 2004; November 8, 2004 and December 6, 2004. In addition, the District's Southern Water Use Caution Area public/staff work group met and public workshops were held on January 19, 2005 and September 19, 2005. The proposed rules were also considered during the District's Governing Board monthly meetings on January 25, 2005; August 30, 2005; October 25, 2005; December 1, 2005; January 24, 2006; February 21, 2006 and March 28, 2006, all of which were noticed in the FAW.

Document Information

Comments Open:
4/21/2006
Summary:
Minimum flows proposed for the upper Peace River to ensure that the minimum hydrologic requirements of fish and natural systems associated with the upper segment of the river are met and not jeopardized by withdrawals. The upper segment of the river includes that area between Bartow and Zolfo Springs. The minimum flows are based on the hydrologic requirements of biological communities associated with the upper Peace River system, as well as considering non-consumptive uses including fishing, ...
Purpose:
To establish minimum flows and levels for the Southern Water Use Caution Area for the Most Impacted Area, the upper Peace River and Lakes Jackson, Letta, Lotela and Little Lake Jackson on the Highlands County Ridge and Lakes Clinch, Eagle, McLeod and Wales in Polk County.
Rulemaking Authority:
373.044, 373.113, 373.171 FS.
Law:
373.036, 373.0361, 373.0395, 373.042, 373.0421, 373.086 FS.
Contact:
Karen A. Lloyd, Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, 2379 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL 34604-6899, (352)796-7211, extension 4651.
Related Rules: (3)
40D-8.041. Minimum Flows
40D-8.624. Guidance and Minimum Levels for Lakes
40D-8.626. Minimum Aquifer Levels in Hillsborough County North of State Road 60, and Pasco and Pinellas Counties