08/19/2014BCC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Reconnection/Water Farming August 2014 Page 8 All these factors combined to create an abundant inventory of abandoned lands, in the center of the re -connection region. In 2009, during an aerial inspection of the western county areas of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin County, the viewed picture in many areas was one of abandoned land as far as the eye could see. A short ten to fifteen years prior, these same areas were abundant in agriculture and of dedicated landowners committed to protecting the land and the water resources that many were dependent. Given the majority of the abandoned land was in the previously highlighted region for the reconnection and also were strategically located in regard to the Indian River Lagoon System, the idea of creating smaller project areas which provided the same range of benefits as the larger project came to light. The vision of simply placing and holding water on this areas —in a sense farming water instead of farming citrus —gave birth to the term Water Farming. The development of this water farming terminology also had a relationship to the (Florida Ranchland's Payment for Environmental Services) FRESP program recently enacted in the middle of the State. Thus the idea of water farming was born in 2009. Water farming was viewed as a significant change from that ranch land program whereas in the water farming vision, the volume of water placed on the land would be measured in feet, not inches, and the land commitment to the retaining of water was absolute during the period of retention. When looked at further from the birth of the idea, water farming was realized as a positive multi -step process toward reducing storm water run off into the lagoon, and offered all the attributes the larger re-connection/attenuation project offered, only on a smaller scale and of less expense and of utmost importance, the ability to do something as far as constructing a retention/detention site in a period of months not years. It was realized the best way to eat an elephant (large reconnection project) was in small bites (water farming). Re -energized by the Water Farming idea and the obvious benefits to all stakeholders, the Indian River Citrus League continued to champion the re -connection and regional storage project with a new addition to the tool box, called water farming. The clear distinction for water farming was it would take less time and money and offered almost immediate benefits to the lagoon system. In the period of 2009-2012 the Indian River Citrus League and associated advisors promoted the idea of water farming to Water Management Districts, Local, State and Federal officials and nationally recognized environmental leaders and in fact, anyone that would listen and were concerned and interested in some real-time solutions for the lagoon system. 13