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SJRWMD FY 2017-2018 Final Budget groundwater withdrawals would be significantly harmful. The MFLs became effective in late June 2017 to meet the July 1 statutory deadline. o In each of these springs, the recommended MFLs will be achieved throughout the 20-year planning horizon, and prevention strategies are not required. • In April, the Governing Board approved the adoption of MFLs for Silver Springs in Marion County. MFLs for Silver Springs became effective on June 27, 2017. A prevention strategy has been drafted for Silver Springs and is being presented to the Legislature for ratification during the 2017-18 Legislative Session. • The board also approved the use of emergency rulemaking for these MFLs to ensure the MFLs were adopted by the statutory deadline of July 1, 2017. Water Quality ($37.2 million) Water Resources • The District completed the southern inlet for Fellsmere Water Management Area in January 2017. This will make the area fully operational and provide 70,000 acre-feet of additional storage for the Upper St. Johns River Basin. This is one of the final components of the Upper St. Johns River Basin Project, cumulatively restoring more than 160,000 acres of the St. Johns River headwater wetlands for flood protection, water supply and wetland restoration. • Upon receiving funding from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the District was able to complete the first phase of reconnection of Emeralda Marsh Area 3 to Lake Griffin. The District is currently completing the phase two reconnection, with a likely completion date of November 2017. • The District has completed 60 percent of the design for the C-10 water management area, which will provide an additional 1,300 acres of land and a projected storage of 6,500 acre-feet. Restoration Efforts • The District and its partners celebrated the completion of the Upper St. Johns River Basin Project, a marsh restoration and flood control project covering more than 166,000 acres in Brevard and Indian River counties. • The District, partnering with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida Inland Navigation District(FIND), Brevard County, and the City of Melbourne, celebrated the groundbreaking of the Eau Gallie River muck dredging project in January 2017. Once completed in fall 2018, at a total project cost of $23 million, approximately 632,000 cubic yards of muck will have been removed from the main stem of the 3.9-mile long Eau Gallie River, a major tributary of the Indian River Lagoon. • The District has spent$1.5 million on water quality improvements since purchasing Silver Springs Forest Conservation Area in 2015. District staff has completed construction on seven gabion weirs, two low level crossings, and three other water control structures in an effort to reduce turbidity and provide erosion control for the Half-Mile Creek flows into Silver River. Resource Evaluation and Modeling Page 20 5- 1\ 2