WATER USE PERMITTING & MONITORING

The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) issued a Consumptive Use Permit (CUP) to the City of Cocoa for the withdraw of 9 million gallons per day (mgd) average flow from Taylor Creek Reservoir and well fields located south of the Beeline Expressway (SR 528) on the Deseret Ranch property in Orange County, Florida.  As part of the CUP for the Taylor Creek Reservoir and well fields, DRMP staff ecologists implement a comprehensive monitoring plan to help ensure that there are no negative impacts associated with the withdrawal of water from the reservoir to downstream or reservoir wetland communities.  DRMP conducted vegetative monitoring of thirty-one (31) wetlands transects within and outside the well field’s zone of influence.  Data collected at these sites included herbaceous vegetation, shrub, sapling, subcanopy, canopy data, handfern data, and hydrological data.  The main elements of the monitoring plan consisted of continuous monitoring of water levels within the floodplain downstream of the reservoir, monitoring of wetlands within and contiguous with the reservoir, monitoring of the floodplain wetlands downstream of the reservoir and reference floodplain wetlands and monitoring of the handfern communities in the downstream floodplains.  The monitoring plan also consisted of developing a Hydrology Report from data collected from wetland transects piezometers located in the well fields.  Data were compiled and results were presented to the SJRWMD within annual monitoring reports for District approval.  

 

Project Photos (click for larger view)

 

DRMP was contracted by the City of Titusville to develop a wellfield management plan, and to assist the City in renewing their Consumptive Use Permit.  As a condition of the permit, the City was required to assess the wetlands within their two wellfields, and develop a monitoring program.  DRMP developed a hydrologic and vegetative monitoring program to assess potential impacts of groundwater drawdown on wetlands. These methods, along with an extensive groundwater monitoring network, were used to provide the City with relevant data on wetland changes while minimizing field labor requirements.  DRMP also developed mitigation alternatives to offset impacts from groundwater withdrawal.

 

Project Photos (click for larger view)