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MAY 11985 3. 4. . BOOK 60 F,kiF 73- Blue Cypress Stormwater Management Area (BCSMA) This 9680 acre stormwater management area will be located between SR 60 and Fellsmere Water Control District cover- ing land areas east and west of SR 512 for the management of stormwaters from St. Johns Water Control District (SJWCD) reservoir and other agricultural developments. St. Johns Stormwater Management Area (SJSMA) SJSMA is a 6200 acre stormwater management area between Fellsmere Grade and Zig Zag Canal within the boundary of the Fellsmere Water Control District (FWCD). This storage area will receive stormwater discharged from BCSMA, BCMCA, and the agricultural area to the east. The construction. of SJSMA will produce a -significant recovery of the stormwater from the area within FWCD that is currently being discharged to tidewater via the C-54 Canal. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS: The purpose of the management plan is to improve water quality by providing retention and filtration of water through the marsh conservation areas and to improve usable water quantities as sources for agricultural irrigation and increased recharge for the Upper St. Johns River. In reviewing the technical report, several issues arise when viewed from the local perspective. There are several possible disadvantages to the plan for Indian River County. These are: 1) Loss of habitat;. 2) loss of recreation areas (Stick Marsh); 3) possible closing of the Fellsmere Grade. The proposed plan maintains that a primary objective is to divert stormwater from flowing through the C-54 Canal into the Indian River. In so doing, however, approximately 2140 acres of the stick marsh area would be converted into a permanent stormwater reservoir,_ thus destroying its natural habitat and recreation potential function. The plan states that in 1982, an alternative site was proposed in Brevard County; however, this alternative was not selected. There is no mention as to why this alternative site was not selected. The plan does not adequately address the future use of the Fellsmere Grade. The most specific information related to the Grade is that it would be converted to a levee system with a weir structure and culverts to control flood flow discharge into the St. Johns stormwater management area. The proposed plan does not offer management systems, nor is it clear as considered other than the September believes that the SJRWMD should submit plans for County input. RECOMMENDATION: a range of alternative to what alternatives were 1982 alternative. Staff a number of alternative Staff recommends that the County Commission prepare a letter to the SJRWMD expressing all its concerns regarding the 1983 plan. In addition, staff recommends that the County Commission hold a workshop with the SJRWMD and the public in order to further access the proposed project's impacts upon Indian River County. 14 r