2009 South Florida Environment Report - Volume I

South Florida Water Management District

The 2011 South Florida Environmental Report (SFER) unifies dozens of agency reports into a single document consisting of a three-volume main report and Executive Summary. This consolidated reporting supports the restoration, management, and protection activities associated with the Kissimmee Basin, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, and South Florida’s coastal ecosystems. Complex regional issues of water quality, quantity, timing, and distribution must be addressed upstream to effectively improve the health of downstream systems. As such, the region is divided into the Northern and Southern Everglades based on delineated watershed boundaries (see map on p. 4). The Northern Everglades includes the Kissimmee area lakes and rivers, Lake Okeechobee, and the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and estuaries. The Southern Everglades covers the Water Conservation Areas, Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park/Florida Bay, and the coastal bays and estuaries south of Lake Okeechobee. This systemwide perspective helps integrate the agency’s many regional programs and projects in achieving the restoration goals of the entire Everglades. Volume I provides status updates and data summaries for various monitoring and research projects associated with South Florida ecosystems during Water Year 2010 (WY2010) (May 1, 2009–April 30, 2010). In 14 chapters, the Volume I framework is similar to the reporting in previous SFERs. Following the Chapter 1 introduction, Chapter 2 presents detailed information on regional hydrology in support of subsequent chapters. Chapters 3 through 5 focus primarily on water quality information linked to Everglades restoration efforts, while Chapters 6 through 12 cover more diverse topics critical to the restoration and management of South Florida ecosystems. Financial reporting on Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010) (October 1, 2009–September 30, 2010) for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Lake Okeechobee, and Everglades Forever Act (Chapters 7, 10, and 13, respectively) is also included. Dozens of related appendices provide supporting data and more detailed analyses for the special-interest reader and to fulfill several permit requirements.