Miami Herald Today

THE ENVIRONMENT
South Florida suburbs, not farms, spared new water restrictions
Water managers put off sweeping new restrictions for the suburbs but imposed new ones for farmers as the managers combat a deepening drought they hope ends during the rainy season.
By CURTIS MORGAN
cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com
At least four groundwater monitoring wells in South Miami-Dade County have hit the highest salt concentrations ever. The marshy water conservation areas at the western fringes of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties have gone bone dry. Lake Okeechobee has dropped so low that water managers can't tap it to replenish coastal drinking water supplies.

Water managers, grappling with deepening water shortages after the driest six months on record, on Thursday approved emergency restrictions on farmers who draw from the lake, cutting their rations by nearly half.

But with forecasts calling for increasing storms this weekend, the South Florida Water Management District ordered no sweeping new cutbacks for the suburbs. The district's governing board left in place existing twice-weekly sprinkling restrictions and essentially crossed its fingers that the rainy season is rolling in.

''We really need this rain, and we need it to kick in and keep raining,'' said Susan Sylvester, director of operations for the district.

Still, even if rain does crank up, she stressed it will have to be well above the average 36 inches to make up for historic dry-season shortages.

The district projects that Lake Okeechobee, which stood at 10.63 feet above sea level Thursday, has only a 50 percent shot of rising to a level where water restrictions can be eased by next year. Groundwater levels across much of the 16-county district, which stretches from Orlando to Key West, also are at or near historic lows -- with South Miami-Dade in the most dire straits.

Last week, the district issued an emergency order cutting South Miami-Dade south of Southwest 216th Street and the Florida Keys back to once-weekly lawn sprinkling.

Conditions haven't improved since.

`VERY CONCERNING'

Peter Kwiatkowski, a water resources director for the district, said the buffer of fresh water protecting well fields has dwindled to a quarter of what it should be, significantly raising risks to Everglades marshes and wells supplying tens of thousands of residents. If saltwater pushing in from Biscayne Bay taints those wells, it can take years to reverse the impact or could require utilities to perform expensive desalination treatments.

''It's very concerning for us,'' he said.

Mike Collins, a board member from Islamorada, said some monitoring wells ringing drinking wells for the Florida Keys showed salt concentrations 30 times above normal levels last week.

The governing board hit the agricultural industry hardest, cutting farmers who tap Lake Okeechobee by 45 percent. It also capped the amount that Lake Worth can pull from coastal wells that have shown rising salt levels. Lake Worth, along with Dania Beach and Hallandale Beach, has been on once-weekly irrigation for years because of salt-intrusion concerns.

`PULSE RELEASES'

The board also delayed one decision that hinted at the regional water wars likely to erupt if the rains don't come, or come in large enough amounts over the summer.

Environmentalists urged the district to authorize ''pulse releases'' from Lake Okeechobee down the Caloosahatchee River, one of the richest estuaries in the state, saying rising salt levels could kill essential sea grasses within days -- a concern shared by district scientists.

Charles Dauray, a board member from Southwest Florida, urged approval, arguing the small amount of water -- about a third of an inch on the lake -- would make a huge difference to the local economy.

`CRITICAL MASS'

But Collins countered that water could be needed elsewhere if the drought conditions persist, including to bolster the threatened wells supplying Florida City, Homestead and the Keys.

''I understand you are concerned about the estuaries,'' he said. ``I am concerned about people in the Keys having water at all. Those well fields are at critical mass.''

The board decided to delay a decision on sending more water to the river, giving executive director Carol Ann Wehle a few days to see if the rain comes before making the call.