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REGIONAL RESTORATION THROUGH INNOVATIVE WATER MANAGEMENT CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS addressing matters of; WATER QUALITY WATER QUANTITY GROUND WATER FLOOD CONTROL th ru REGIONAL ATTENUATION/DEEP WATER STORAGE & WATER FARMING/DISPERSED WATER MANAGEMENT FOCUS AREA: Martin, St. Lucie; Indian River & Brevard Counties BY Robert J. "Bob" Ulevich INTRODUCTION; During high periods of storm water discharges through the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Federal facilities into the Indian River Lagoon during the mid -to late 1990's, and amidst the regional area's criticism and concerns dating back to the 1950's in association with the effects of such discharges, the SFWMD North Area Director/Regional Director for Operations and Maintenance was approached by the local area Governing Board member to explore the feasability of redirecting and reducing these regional area discharges into the Indian River Lagoon. The primary focus of this requested feasability assessment assignment was to evaluate possible solutions to reduce and/or re -direct the volume of discharges from Lake Okeechobee and local contributing basins into the lagoon system as conveyed by the St. Lucie Canal (C-44) system. In conjunction with the time period leading up to this assessment, severe weather events, which were key to the regional concerns involving discharges, were also impacting the capability of the SFWMD system to effectively convey water through the C-23 canal system and the S-97 control structure. In a creative solution, the SFWMD team re -cut a portion of the C-23 Extension canal just to the north of the SFWMD G-79 Structure to relieve the high water impacts. This action provided for the redirection of canal water north ward out of the C-23 canal systems through the SFWMD G-78 structure with discharge into the C-24 canal system in the vicinity of the Carlton Road Bridge. 6