Adena Springs won't cause harm to springs or aquifer
Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 18, 2012 at 8:21 p.m.
North and Central Florida are experiencing drought ranging from severe to exceptional. This is one of the periodic irritating — sometimes devastating — ironies of Florida weather. We know spring months will be dry. But when a dry spring combines with a really bad drought, the lack of rain for extended periods can lead to reduced water levels in our lakes, rivers, springs and even the aquifer.
It is, therefore, probably not the most psychologically advantageous time for a Marion County rancher to be asking the St. John's River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to approve a new groundwater withdrawal of up to 13.2-million gallons a day from his property, Adena Springs Ranch.
However, the one thing we know about Florida weather is that it is unpredictable. As many of us recall, an even more severe drought in 2001-02 was followed by a year of unprecedented hurricanes and tropical storms in 2004.
Water-use permit applications like Adena Springs Ranch must be judged on their long-term impact on water resources and not on current climatic conditions. It would make no more sense to permit Adena Springs Ranch during a period of extreme flood than it would to reject the permit application during a period of drought.
Also, on a map, the ranch appears to be located close to several lakes, and at least a half a dozen natural springs, one of which is the already stressed Silver Springs, one of Florida's greatest natural wonders. Predictably, some individuals and environmental groups forecast disaster if SJRWMD approves the water-use permit for Adena Springs Ranch. They argue a withdrawal of 13.2 mgd will lead to certain damage, perhaps even destruction of Silver Springs and other natural springs in the area, as well as dropping levels in area lakes. It is an emotional, and sometimes politically effective, argument.
But emotional and effective don't add up to factual.
A highly regarded environmental engineering firm from Sanford, Fla., used a peer-reviewed, hydrologic model developed by the SJRWMD to assess the impact of the proposed withdrawal on environmental features and private wells surrounding Adena Springs Ranch. The results of this model are that the proposed withdrawal will have virtually no impact on Silver Springs, other natural springs, lakes and private wells.
Adena Springs Ranch is proposing to withdraw water from the Floridan aquifer, which is one of the largest, most prolific aquifers in the world stretching from Southern Georgia to the southern tip of Florida. It is estimated the Floridan aquifer contains more than a quadrillion (that's 1 followed by 15 zeros, i.e., 1,000,000,000,000,000) gallons of water, equivalent to all the Great Lakes combined.
The Floridan aquifer isn't a bathtub, all of which drains toward the same outlet as the water level falls evenly. Rather, it is a massive layer of irregularly contoured limestone about 2,000 feet deep in this part of Florida, with widely varying water storage and transmissive properties. In some areas of the aquifer, the effects of water withdrawal can be felt many miles away, while in other areas, the effects dissipate quickly.
The environmental engineer who studied the permit application found that the effect of the withdrawal of water from the Adena Springs Ranch dissipates before it reaches Silver Springs, other springs, lakes and private wells.
Therefore, the impact on these environmental features is virtually nonexistent. For example, the predicted decline of the Floridan aquifer at Silver Springs due to the proposed withdrawal will be about an inch. This impact is so small that it could not be measured even with the most sophisticated monitoring equipment available to modern science, and will not perceptibly impact the Spring flow.
To provide an even greater level of assurance concerning the impact of the proposed withdrawal on the Floridan aquifer, Adena Springs Ranch was requested by the SJRWMD to perform a pump test on its property to verify the results of the hydrologic model performed by its environmental engineer. That test consists of pumping water from a production well like the ones that will be used on the property and measuring the actual change in water levels in surrounding monitor wells. Adena Springs Ranch has completed this test and will soon be reporting the results to the SJRWMD.
Opponents of the permit also claim the aquifer and the natural springs in the area will be polluted with nutrients through over-fertilization and other cattle-ranching activities. However, it has always been Adena Springs Ranch's intent to only use the minimum amount of fertilizer necessary that can be absorbed quickly by the plants, while maintaining sufficient growth to supply the forage needs of the cattle, and to spread the cattle manure so the nutrients therein will not leach into groundwater. The process will be in accordance with recommendations from a certified agronomist and best-management practices approved by Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In fact, Adena Springs Ranch is developing a state-of-the art nutrient management plan and irrigation plan to ensure that no additional nutrient loading will occur on the property as a result of the proposed cattle-ranch activities.
Ed de la Parte is a Tampa water-use permitting attorney working for Adena Springs Ranch.
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