Florida Section American Water Resource Association Page 1

AWRA Florida Section MeetingFriday, March 14th Palm Beach Gardens, FL Borland Center for Performing Arts

The March AWRA Florida Section meeting will be held at the Borland Center for Performing Arts in Palm Beach Gardens. The technical session will focus on several projects ongoing in the Palm Beach County area including the C-51 Water Supply Reservoir Project, the science plan for Stormwater Treatment Areas and a discussion on Water Supply and Water Ethics. We will also hear from Maria Elena Grimmet, a student at Oxbridge Academy located in Palm Beach County, who has performed water remediation research removing organic contaminants from contaminated groundwater since the age of ten. Marie Elena was one of four award winners from the poster contest held at the 23rd Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources conference held in January in Ft. Myers. In 2011, minor planet 27410, which has an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, was renamed “Grimmett” by the Lincoln Laboratory of MIT in honor of her research achievements and is recognized by the International Astronomical Union. You will not want to miss this presentation by a rising star in the water and natural resources profession!

The Borland Center is conveniently located in the area locally known as “Midtown” off of PGA Boulevard with easy access from both I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike.

Enjoy all that Palm Beach County has to offer! If you want to make a weekend of it, this is an ideal location to bring the family. While you are at the meeting soaking up knowledge and networking with interesting people, your family can be soaking up the rich cultural and natural opportunities available in and around the Palm Beach County area.

On Saturday you may wish to take a step back in time and enjoy walking, bicycling, riding, or canoeing through beautiful and historic Riverbend Park. From the ancient Indian middens, through the Seminole War Battles, to present day restoration, see Florida as

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Michael DelCharco, P.E.President

Jacksonville

Gary Howalt, P.W.S.Vice PresidentJacksonville

Kristin K. Bennett, Esq.

SecretaryStuart

Mark C. Diblin, P.G.

TreasurerGainesville

Carol Hinton

Past President 2013Gainesville

Annette Carter

Past-President 2012Stuart

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ed CallBrooksville

Catherine KatsikisRoyal Palm Beach

Joanne Chamberlain, P.E.

Palatka

Richard Creech, P.E., P.S.MStuart

L. Donald Duke, Ph.D., P.E.

Ft. Myers

Carol Howard Sebring

Gregg Jones, P.G.

Tampa

Jeremy McBryan, P.E., CFMWest Palm Beach

Walt Reigner, P.E., CPESC

Lakeland

Krista D. SabinPalm Beach Gardens

Catherine A. Walker, P.E.

Palatka

Garrett WallaceWest Palm Beach

Shayne Wood, P.E.

Jacksonville

February 2014

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Additional Conference Information

the first settlers did. Nearly 10 miles of hiking/biking trails, 7 miles of equestrian trails and 5 miles of canoeing/kayaking trails allow for hours of enjoyment. Stroll along the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River, visit the Cracker Farmstead, and picnic in the shade under a Seminole chickee (information obtained from the PBC Parks and Recreation website).

Additional recreation opportunities include the more than 31,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands, ranging in size from 3 acres to over 12,000 acres, from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Okeechobee and from the Martin County line south to Boca Raton. These lands include the Northern Everglades Natural Area (NENA - http://www.pbcgov.com/erm/nena/ ) properties; a variety of conservation lands owned and managed by a number of governmental agencies. State-owned lands managed by FDEP include Jonathan Dickinson State Park and adjacent lands along the Loxahatchee River that were purchased by SFWMD under the Save Our Rivers Program. State-owned lands managed by FWC include the John C. and Mariana Jones Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area and the J. W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area. Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management (ERM) manages the natural areas purchased or leased by Palm Beach County. The City of West Palm Beach owns and manages the Grassy Waters Preserve, which also is known as the Water Catchment Area because it provides the drinking water for the City. Conservation lands within the Martin County portion of NENA are managed by the Martin County Parks and Recreation Department, by SFWMD if the lands were jointly acquired, or by FDEP if the lands are adjacent to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

For Sponsorship Opportunities - please contact Meeting Co-Chair, Kristin Bennett at 772 781 3414 or Kristin.Bennett@tetratech.com

To Register: Click Hereor go to our website at www.awraflorida.org

Palm Beach Gardens at the Borland Center for Performing Arts

Riverbend Park

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Riverbend Park

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AWRA Florida Section Meeting Borland Center for Performing Arts in Palm Beach GardensMarch 14, 2014

10:00-11:30 Board of Directors meeting. Guests are welcome to attend.

11:30 – 12:00 Registration

12:00-12:10 Welcome

12:10-1:30 Lunch and Guest speaker

1:30 – 1:45 Break

1:45-2:15 C-51 Water Supply Reservoir Project Ernie Cox, Family Lands Remembered

2:15-2:30 The New AWRA Florida Website - Tips and Tricks for Successful Membership, Meeting Registration and Online Payments Jeremy McBryan, SFWMD, AWRA Florida Section Board of Directors

2:30-3:00 Science Plan for the Stormwater Treatment Areas Dr. Larry Schwartz, SFWMD

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15-3:45 Sulfamethazine Adsorption Isothems and Kinetics with Hypercrosslinked Polymer MN250 in Acid and Alkaline Environments - Maria Elena Grimmet, Oxbridge Academy, Palm Beach

3:45-4:30 Anthropogenic Disturbances in Estuarine Ecosystems: The Effects of Altered Freshwater Inflow, Introduction of Invasive Species, and Habitat Alteration in the Loxahatchee River, FL - Zachary Jud - Florida International University

4:30 – 5:00 Water Supply and Water Ethics Melissa Meeker, Vice President Business Line Management CSA Ocean Sciences Inc.

5:00–5:15 Q&A/ Wrap up/Next meeting information

5:15 - Networking

TECHNICAL AGENDA

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Board of Directors SummaryThe Florida Section AWRA Board of Directors (BOD) met January 30, 2014 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The detailed agenda and minutes will be included on the Section website following BOD approval of the minutes at the March 14 BOD meeting.Highlights of the meeting include:• Website: Transition has been made. Jeremy McBryan to give update at

meetings about the functionality of the site. • Membership Directory: No hard copy will be printed for 2014. We will seek out member input on whether members want

a printed directory. • Treasurer: 2013 was a successful year financially including an increase on the investment in the Sandy Young

endowment. • Education Program: Over $16,000 was provided to students via grants, scholarships, awards and travel stipends. • National: November 2014 annual meeting will be in Tysons Corner, VA; 2015 in Denver, CO; Specialty conferences for

2014 are in Park City, UT and Reno, NV. Discussions being held on how to add value to membership including educational offerings such as webinars.

• Upcoming Meetings: March 14, Palm Beach Gardens; May 16 Ormond Beach; July 10-11 Key Largo; September TBD; November Jacksonville

• Next BOD meeting: March 14. Exact time and location TBD. Board meetings are open to all members of the Florida Section AWRA and their guests. Members and guests are encouraged to get involved and increase the value of their AWRA membership.

Our Section continues to grow. Please welcome some of our newest members and take a few minutes to introduce yourself at an upcoming meeting.

Membership

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming meeting.

Joanne Chamberlain

Membership Services Coordinatorjchamber@sjrwmd.com • 561-707-8301

Michael Condran MWH Americas, Inc.

Michael Hoffman University of Florida

Kurt Leckler South Florida Water Management District

Ann Moore Lake Disston LakeWatch

Jezabel Pagan Southwest Florida Water Management District

Membership in AWRA Florida provides a cost effective way to stay connected and involved with Florida’s water and natural resources topics. Annual dues are $20.00 for professionals and only $4.00 for our students. Your membership helps to support Florida’s next generation of water resources professionals.

You can renew your membership, change the level of your membership, and update your contact information from our website - www.awraflorida.org. Our online application is located on the Membership page, which can be found under Get Involved. If it is your first time logging in to our website, have problems logging in, or do not know your password, please contact me at jchamber@sjrwmd.com or 561-707-8301.

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23rd Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference “Sea Level Rise: Fight or Flight”January 31, 2014 - Presentation Abstracts

Drought Buster – The Caloosahatchee Estuary Flood of 2013Rae Ann Wessel, Natural Resource Policy Director, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation FoundationAbstract: Since 2007, the Caloosahatchee and estuary have suffered from water management policies that cut off freshwater flows resulting in extreme salinities that decimated critical fresh-water tapegrass habitats and fueled harmful algal blooms year after year. The summer rainy sea-son of 2013 ended the six year drought and altered water management concerns from too little water to way too much. Four continuous months of rainfall resulted in massive discharges to the Caloosahatchee estuary that pushed freshwater out beyond the Sanibel lighthouse totally elimi-nating the estuary mixing zone, critical nursery habitat for the life cycle of many of our aquatic residents. We review the impacts and what’s needed to get the water right.

Wet Detention Stormwater Treatment Ponds: Thousands of Ticking Time Bombs for Water Quality in Southwest FloridaSerge Thomas, Ph.D., Florida Gulf Coast UniversityAbstract: The thousands of stormwater ponds should normally protect the downstream SW FL hydrosystems. However, ponds morphed into real estate appealing convoluted lakes surrounded by excessively fertilized lawns. Nutrient runoffs inexorably trigger algae/plants growth. Blooms are treated with mainly copper based chemicals to clear the water but they also adversely impact the predators of algae/plants so that lakes become reliant on chemicals to remain clear. These dysfunctional lakes thus release nutrients and chemicals to the downstream hydrosystems which become impacted too. Nutrients and copper are also stored in the lake sediment for long-term pollution. Fixing the problem include e.g. reducing nutrients loading, lake aeration, water dying and sediment dredging. However, most of these solutions come at financial, ecological and traumatic costs.

High School Students Conducting Water Resources Research Teresa Thornton, Ph.D., Oxbridge Academy of the Palm BeachesAbstract: Allowing students to pursue their interests within the curriculum is a productive means of assuring mastery. Environmental science is political, social, economic, and human health oriented, as well as chemical, physical, and biological. Each concept can be related to a real-world problem and divided into its component parts. This allows for students to relate to the material in a personal manner, internalizing the overall complicated picture of modern environmental solutions. Encouraging further exploration to foster independent original research that benefits the environment, and thereby the community, is the overall goal of effective environmental education. Using this philosophy, secondary students have written full literature reviews, developed appropriate methods with professionals in the field, fostered relationships with mentors; collected data, and completed write-ups that have been respected by in their field. In a little over a year, more than 6 students have been accepted to present at professional conferences, and 9 students are moving toward that goal. All are expected to submit their final drafts to a journal in their discipline.

Overview of Stormwater Facilities on FGCU Campus Jonathan Wadas, E.I., Johnson EngineeringAbstract: Water resources and stormwater management go hand in hand. Water resources include wetlands, flow ways, rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds. These resources provide habitat for wildlife and vegetation, recreation for humans, natural beauty, and conveyance and storage for stormwater runoff. The FGCU Surface Water Management System provides treatment and attenuation of stormwater runoff prior to discharge from the system. The system cleans the water so it does not pollute downstream water resources, which ensures a healthy ecosystem that can support wildlife and vegetation. The system also attenuates (or detains) stormwater runoff within the system. Attenuation prevents an increase in stormwater discharge which in turn reduces downstream flooding potential. The FGCU Surface Water Management System was designed to protect the water resources of the area through treatment and attenuation.

January BOD Meeting attendees: Jeremy McBryan, Annette Carter, Kristin Bennett, Gary Howalt, Karen Bickford, Larry Carter, and Don Duke

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Sea Level Changes in the Southeastern United States Past, Present, and FutureGary T. Mitchum, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Dean, College of Marine Science, University of South FloridaAbstract: This presentation is about past, present, and future sea level changes in the southeastern United States. It is aimed at non-scientists and scientists who are not specialists in sea level change. Although this report is about our specific part of the world, sea level change in any region is best viewed in the context of global sea level changes. This should be seen as encouraging, though, since measuring and predicting global sea level change is a much easier problem than predicting the changes at any particular location along a coastline. Global sea level measures the volume of the oceans. This volume can change only if we add or remove water, or if we change the mean density of the water in the oceans. The most likely way to change the density is to warm or cool the oceans. For example, warmer water is less dense and therefore takes up more space, thus raising the sea level. So determining global sea level change is a relatively easy problem since we only have to determine how much water is added or subtracted from the oceans, or how much the oceans on average are warmed or cooled. Regional and local relative sea level changes, on the other hand, are strongly influenced by land motion. Many people do not realize that the land we are standing upon is also slowly moving up and down. If the land is sinking, then the sea level appears to be rising, and vice versa. Also, even if the oceans are globally warming, that does not mean that the associated sea level increase will be felt everywhere uniformly. If our region is warming at an anomalously high rate, then we will see a higher rate of sea level change. Similarly, if the water added from ice melt does not immediately spread out over the entire ocean, then we may see higher or lower rates of sea level change. At present we do not know if our region is set to be a winner or a loser in this game.

Fortunately, though, the present sea level changes in the southeastern US region can be accounted for largely by the global changes once we take into account the local and regional land motions. The latter are small at most stations in our region, but nonetheless need to be accounted for. In some areas along our coastlines the land motions are in fact dominant. I will suggest that the best projection of the future is about 80 centimeters of global sea level increase by 2100, an increase we need to plan for in our region. This is somewhat larger than the most recent global assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but I will argue that it is likely our present best guess. Unfortunately, the uncertainties in these analyses lead me to conclude that the probability of a larger increase is more likely than the chance that it will be substantially smaller.

It may seem a bit tangential, but I will also suggest that episodic changes due to changes in storm tracks, frequencies, and intensities should not be ignored. Climate change will almost certainly be felt most strongly as changes in what we call weather. Such changes are potentially the most important thing that we need to predict in the coming decades. Finally, I will say that we can likely reduce the uncertainty in sea level rise rates over the next 10 years, but only if we maintain the superb observational system that we have in place now. We are now able to determine sea level change from the global scale, to the regional scale, and down to the local scale. If we simply continue to make the observations that we are making now for another decade, then we will most likely be able to intelligently inform the public about the real risks that might be associated with climate change.

The Need for Orderly Planning for Barrier Island InundationHarold R. Wanless Ph.D., Professor and Department Chair, Department of Geological Sciences, University of MiamiAbstract: As U.S. Government (NOAA) projections for anticipated future sea level rise are from 4.1 to 6.6 feet by the end of the century for scenarios with at least limited ice sheet melt, it is critical to take a hard look at future management and habitability of coastal beaches and barrier islands. With such a rise, essentially all barrier islands will be over-ridden by rising seas and abandoned during this century. In fact, the next 2 feet of sea level rise will make barrier islands extremely risky and challenging for habitation and with severely compromised infrastructure. This could occur by 2048-2066 or earlier. With accelerating sea levels projected through this century and beyond, it is time to refocus on plans to maintain community stability during relocation and environmental quality during inundation.

As there is little possibility that these sea level rise projections will diminish, it is imperative that (a) long-term, infrastructure-intensive development of barrier islands be terminated; (b) public money not be wasted on hard or soft shore protection measures but rather be put in to relocation assistance, cleaning

Meeting Chair Karen Bickford with Don Duke and Ron Edenfield

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low-lying polluted lands, and removing storm-damaged development and infrastructure; (c) firm sea-level-rise thresholds be established for termination of infrastructure services and of permission to rebuild following storm destruction; (d) establish a pre-planned sea-level-rise threshold staging for insurance withdrawal through cooperative public-private agreement, (e) establish federal, state and local legislation and mandate for the above, and (f) initiate intensive education for the affected public.

Over the coming century, hundreds of millions of people will be relocated from barrier islands, deltas and other low-lying coastal areas. We have a choice of making this a progressive orderly process in which there can be both help to the affected families and cleaning of the land before inundation – or risking catastrophic chaos, creation of large numbers of dislocated indigents, and polluted wetland and marine environments.

What cities must be doing now is integrating high-resolution elevation, storm surge, and flood risk maps with the infrastructure components. In the case of coastal areas, maps should then be produced for each foot of sea level rise. With these, intelligent planning can be made to determine what areas and infrastructures are currently at unacceptable risk and at what thresholds (at what sea level rise or changing frequency of extreme events) either infrastructure will have to be modified to maintain functionality and acceptable risk or infrastructure services will have to be discontinued from certain sectors. Increasing sea level rise and inundation, increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and increasing desertification gradually destabilize the landscape and infrastructure stability.) Although these changes from global warming are gradual, resulting changes commonly occur abruptly and catastrophically (e.g. Katrina and Sandy, the recent Colorado and New Mexico flooding, and massive dust storms). Major pre¬planning and actions (as described in the abstract above) are the only way to maintain a functional infrastructure and an acceptably low risk to the community population.

Wetlands and Global Climate Change: The Role of Wetland Restoration in a Changing WorldKevin L. Erwin, CSE PSW, Department of Marine & Ecological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences Florida Gulf Coast UniversityAbstract: Global climate change is recognized as a threat to species survival and the health of natural systems. Scientists worldwide are looking at the ecological and hydrological impacts resulting from climate change. These adverse impacts can be expected to be exacerbated due to ongoing pressures on wetlands such as drainage and development. Efforts to restore and manage wetlands will be more complicated by climate change. Wetland systems are vulnerable to changes in quantity and quality of their water supply and it is expected that climate change will have a pronounced effect on wetlands through alterations in hydrological regimes with great global variability. Wetland habitat responses to climate change and the implications for restoration will be realized differently on a regional and mega-watershed level, making it important to recognize that specific restoration and management plans will require examination by habitat. Floodplains, mangroves, seagrasses, saltmarshes, arctic wetlands, peat lands, freshwater marshes and forests are very diverse habitats, with different stressors and different management and restoration techniques now complicated by climate change. Successful long term restoration and management of these systems will hinge on how we choose to respond to the effects of climate change. How will we choose priorities for restoration and research? Will enough water be available to rehabilitate currently damaged, water starved wetland ecosystems? The Saloum and Casamance River systems (Senegal) are an example of major wetland complexes where the effects of climate change is dramatic. Within the 58,000 sq.km. these two watersheds in western Senegal, the negative effects of climate change reducing rainfall and man-made stressors on the natural hydrological systems such as dams, land clearing and drainage have resulted arid, hyper-saline conditions and recently the loss of thousands of hectares of major wetland complexes including mangroves, brackish estuaries, freshwater wetlands and once productive agricultural areas. The livelihoods of thousands of people, who are dependent on the ecological services of these wetlands, are now in peril. The future sustainability of this region, like many around the world, is linked to the successful restoration and management of these systems.

Past President Annette and husband Larry Carter attended BOD meeting to get a break from retirement! President Michael DelCharco grills them about sailing off to the Bahamas and dreams of doing the same.

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Preparing the Agricultural Industry to Climate Change by Adapting to Climate VariabilityClyde Fraisse, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of FloridaAbstract: Evidence suggests that climate, in addition to responding to natural phenomena, is also changing as a result of human activities. Land use changes, such as irrigation of historically semi-arid areas for farmland, paving and development of sprawling urban areas, draining of wetlands, and emissions of greenhouse gases or aerosols into the atmosphere are all human activities that can affect the Earth’s climate system. Given the uncertainties in future climate projections and the need to overcome lack of knowledge, misconceptions, and the sometimes existing cultural and political barriers to constructive action related to climate change, we believe that a gradual approach to introduce the concepts of adaptation and mitigation would be more effective in preparing agricultural producers to climate change. Many aspects related to vulnerability, defined as the degree of sensitivity and ability to cope with climate variability, and adaptation, defined as adjustments to environmental stresses caused by climate variability, can also be applied to climate change. Some of our activities under a project funded by the USDA NIFA with the main objective of preparing agricultural producers to climate change in the Southeast will be presented.

Urban Miami-Dade County Surface-Water/Groundwater Model – Application for Sea Level Rise Evaluation Virginia Walsh, Ph.D., P.G., Chief of Hydrogeology, Miami-Dade Water & Sewer DepartmentAbstract: The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) in a Joint Funding Participation Agreement with Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (MDWASD) developed and calibrated a coupled surface-water/groundwater numerical model of urban Miami-Dade County. One of the objectives of the model is to analyze the effects of sea level rise and climate change on water resource management and changes in saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne Aquifer in Miami-Dade County. Three (3) future scenarios have been completed to date (years 2010 – 2040) and include sea level rise based on current Virginia Key tidal gage linear extrapolation (0.5 foot increase rise during 30-year scenario), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers NRC III sea level rise rate (1.23 foot increase during 30-year scenario), and increased MDWASD wellfield pumpage. Preliminary model results indicate the existing surface-water system can be effectively used to control saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer in areas where land surface elevations exceed expected high tides during the next thirty (30) years.

Measuring and Forecasting Total Ecosystem Services Values (TEV) from Habitat Condition Analyses of Habitats in Southwest Florida: The ECOSERVE Method James (Jim) William Beever III, Principal Planner IV, Southwest Florida Regional Planning CouncilAbstract: Ecosystem Services are the multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems. This includes a wide range of natural processes that help sustain and fulfill human life, such as:

• Purification of air and water• Detoxification and decomposition of wastes in water• Pollination of natural aquatic vegetation• Cycling and movement of nutrients• Protection of coastal shores from erosion by waves• Moderation of weather extremes and their impacts• Provision of aesthetic beauty and intellectual stimulation that lift the human spiritEcosystem services values can be used by decision makers when establishing and maintaining conservation lands, siting utilities, or making development decisions, putting numbers to the impacts associated with those decisions, and adding data when critical trade-offs are being discussed. These values can also be useful in justifying grant funding, in leveraging restoration dollars, and calculating cost/benefits of land use and planning actions. This presentation provides an overview of how ecosystem services projects of the SWFRPC contribute to our knowledge of the values of ecosystems in current and alternate future conditions.

SFWMD Executive Director Blake Guillory updates the attendees on District activites.

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The Future of Florida Gulf Coast Estuaries: Sea Life Rise Effects on Coastal Habitats Through the Year 2100Laura Geselbracht, Senior Scientist, The Nature Conservancy Florida ChapterAbstract: The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model was applied at six major estuaries along Florida’s Gulf Coast (Pensacola Bay, St. Andrews/Choctawhatchee Bays, Apalachicola Bay, Southern Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor) to improve our understanding of the changes to coastal wetland ecosystems and adjacent dry land underway with sea level rise. We utilized high resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data under three sea level rise scenarios: 0.7 m, 1 m and 2 m through the year 2100. Our results indicate that the extent, spatial orientation and relative composition of coastal wetland ecosystems and adjacent dry land within and across our six study areas will substantially change with sea level rise (SLR). Under the 1 m SLR scenario, total predicted impacts for the six study areas indicate that coastal forest (-69,308 ha), undeveloped dry land (¬28,444 ha) and tidal flat (-25,556 ha) will face the greatest loss in cover by the year 2100. The largest gains in cover were simulated for saltmarsh (+32,922 ha), transitional saltmarsh (+23,645 ha) and mangrove forest (+12,583 ha). Of the six study areas, Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay were simulated to experience the greatest net loss in coastal ecosystems (-17,470 ha and -14,780 ha, respectively), primarily due to the extensive loss of tidal flats. The Southern Big Bend study area was the only one that could gain a substantial amount of coastal wetlands with a 1 m of SLR if the transition of undeveloped dry land to tidal flat is allowed to occur. The changes predicted by SLAMM will affect the vulnerability of adjacent human communities to coastal storms and dependent species, which could translate into economic impacts such as reduced harvests, and loss of recreational opportunities and tourism revenues. With this knowledge, vulnerable communities can develop and implement specific strategies to slow and/or accommodate the changes underway.

A Model for Regional Cooperation: The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change CompactNancy Gassman, Ph.D., Natural Resources Administrator, Energy and Sustainability Program, Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management DivisionAbstract: Southeast Florida, made up of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties, is considered one of the nation’s most vulnerable areas to climate change and sea level rise. With 5.6 million residents within its geographic boundaries of the four counties, the region had the potential to have strong voice to advocate for climate policy and recognized the need for regional coordination. Following the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit in October 2009, the four counties entered into the Climate Compact – a voluntary and cooperative partnership among governing bodies to pool resources to begin addressing regional resilience. The Compact focused on joint policy statements for state and federal legislation, development of regionally-consistent technical tools, a commitment to compile a regional climate action plan and the hosting of annual climate leadership summits. In the last four years, the Compact has achieved all of its major goals including successfully advocating for new legislation related to Adaptation Action Areas and publishing the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Action Plan in October 2012. The Compact Counties are moving forward with implementation of the action plan with the support of the region’s municipalities and other government agencies, coordination through the Institute for Sustainable Communities and financial contributions from the Kresge Foundation and various state and federal grants. The Compact has served as a national and international model of regional collaboration on climate issues.

While the goals of the legislature are admirable, they are probably not achievable.

The UF AWRA chapter is hosting “Give Springs A Break” an educational & social springs camping event for Florida college students in early April. This event includes a weekend of camping at Ginnie Springs and several springs related activities at Ginnie Springs April 4th-6th. All college students are welcome to register for a weekend of springs presentations, student networking, environmental advocacy, and of course fun activities such as tubing, snorkeling, and camping. Registration is on the Florida Springs Institute website at: www.floridaspringsinstitute.org under the Calendar of Events Tab. Also, please see our Facebook event page:https://www.facebook.com/events/561996327226309/. All proceeds from this event will benefit the nonprofit Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute.

UF AWRA Give Springs A Break Event

give

SPRINGS

A BREAK

Ginnie Springs

A camping event for all Florida undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in environmental and engineering studies related to water resources. Profits benefit the Florida Springs Institute.

April 4 - 6, 2014

Springs education

Student networking

Environmental advocacy

Tubing

Snorkeling

Camping

Register Early - Space is Limited!

Online Early Registration

FloridaSpringsInstitute.org

$50 for 2 nights camping at Ginnie

Springs, commemorative T-shirt, 2

meals, 2 campfires, and springs

education!

($100 value)

$25 for one day entry into Ginnie

Springs, springs education,

commemorative T-shirt, 2 meals,

and a campfire experience!

($70 value)

Ginnie

Springs

Outdoors, LLC

UF AWRA

A Weekend of Springs Immersions:

HOWARD T. ODUM

FLORIDA SPRINGS

INSTITUTE, INC. GinnieSpringsOutdoors.com

Florida Section American Water Resource Association Page 12

As always, our joint meeting with the Annual Southwest Florida Water Resources Conference – the 23rd! – was a great success. Thanks to all the organizers and committees that made that happen – especially Karen Bickford who chaired the event and our Board Representatives Don Duke and Ron Edenfield for all the work that went into making that meeting great. We had about 180 professionals – with over half of those students – at FGCU talking about sea level rise issues and presenting posters and talks on many water resources topics. The conference gave out over $900 in poster awards and scholarships!The rest of the meetings this year are shaping up nicely. Here are some of the details:• March 14th we’ll be in West Palm Beach at the Borland Center for Performing Arts (more

info elsewhere in this newsletter), Meeting Chairs are Kristin Bennett and Krista Sabin• May 16th we’ll be in Ormond Beach along the Intracoastal in the historic Anderson Price Building with a killer

social at a nearby Tiki Bar, and a room block for beach front rooms for $102/night! Meeting Chair is Cathy Vogel• July 17th and 18th we’ll be in Key Largo at the Upper Keys Government Center. Meeting Chair is DelCharco

and Garrett Wallace – who always does an incredible job with logistics and fund raising. • September – we have some options here! Actually, I think we have it setup but don’t want to commit yet…stay

tuned.• November – we’ll be in the Jacksonville area and Shayne Wood is getting things lined up.You may recall I mentioned a field trip to Cuba in my last letter…well thanks to Cathy Vogel we now have made contact with the former Director of National Hydrological Services at the National Institute of Water Resources! It took Cathy about three minutes to get us the right person in Cuba. Amazing! Mr. Planos is currently a Senior Professor at the University of Havana and the President of the National Science Program on Climate Change in Cuba. We are going to work with Insight Cuba (a travel company) and Mr. Planos to see if we can make a field trip a reality. We know very little about how this can go down, but I’ll share what I do know. Insight Cuba conducts cultural visits regularly, so they are adept at handling all the travel (flights, hotel, food, in country travel, etc.) and visa requirements through the State Department (see their website for more info). If the trip happens, it will be about 4 or 5 days, leave from Miami airport, have several professional meetings with WR professionals from Cuba, be limited to between 10 – 24 people (must be water resources professionals), cost around $4-5,000, and it will probably be in the late summer or fall. If you are interested, we are putting together a list of potential travelers. Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MGVTMY5 and fill out the survey. And yes, I know we are lacking on details…those will come when we get them!Do you know about the Florida Watershed Journal? This is an incredible resource for WR professionals! Visit it at www.flwatershedjournal.org. Lisa Sterling (CDM Smith), Bill Lynch (Corradino) and their team are doing an incredible job on this peer reviewed journal. Get involved! Let me know what you think about AWRA Florida by emailing me at mdelcharco@taylorengineering.com and be sure to register on-line for our March meeting at www.awraflorida.org Hope to see you at a meeting soon!

Michael DelCharco, P.E.mdelcharco@taylorengineering.com

The

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The Rosanne Clementi Education ProgramEducation Committee: Rosanne Clementi, Clementi Environmental Consulting; Kristin Bennett, Tetra Tech, Inc.; Sara Caldwell, P.A., The Law Offices of Sara Caldwell, P.A.; Mike Copeland, WRS Compass; Mark Diblin, AMEC; Jeremy McBryan, SFWMD; Anne Murray, Martin County

WE SHOWED YOU THE MONEY!!$$The AWRA Florida Section funded over $16,000 in student grants, awards, scholarships, student chapter support and travel stipends. We were able to cover registration fees, lodging and a portion of air fare for 9 students, including 2 high school students, to attend the National AWRA meeting in Portland, OR in November 2013. Seven of the students presented. We provided financial assistance for students to attend our bimonthly meetings also.

WE’LL SHOW YOU MORE MONEY!!$$The Education Committee is working on updating the applications for the grants, awards and scholarships. Revised applications will be available online by April 1, 2014. The deadline for submitting applications is May 1, 2014.

SILENT AUCTION 2014 – HELP US RAISE THE MONEY!!$$We will once again be hosting the very popular Silent Auction in conjunction with our summer meeting. Proceeds from the silent auction enable us to provide the funding for the students. You can contribute to this effort by donating items for the silent auction and by bidding! If you want to make a donation of an item, or a financial contribution and an item will be purchased and donated in your name, please contact Rosanne Clementi at Rosanne Clementi Rosanne@clementi-ec.com.

A Message from the Education Committee

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Meeting Sponsorsas of 02/25/14

Laboratory Data Consultants of Florida

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Upcoming Conferences2014 Spring Specialty Conference: GIS and Water Resources VIII• May 12-14, 2014• Snowbird Resort, Salt Lake City, UT• Register - Supersaver Deadline: - March 10, 2014________________________________________

2014 Summer Specialty Conference: Integrated Water Resources Management• June 30- July 2, 2014• John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort, Reno, NV• Call for abstracts - Deadline: February 17, 2014________________________________________

2014 Annual Water Resources Conference• Nov. 3-6, 2014• Sheraton Premier Hotel, Tysons Corner, VA• Call for Special Sessions - Deadline: January 31,

2014

Remember to check the AWRA website for all things water resources, including blogs, career center, non-AWRA conferences and a virtual exhibit hall.

For more information, to renew your membership, or become a member of the National AWRA, go to www.awra.org.

In The News (National)

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VISIT THE FLORIDA SECTION WEBSITE AT:

the Watershed Editor:Gregg Jones, Technical Director/V.P.Cardno ENTRIX3905 Crescent Park Dr. • Riverview, FL 33578Phone (813) 664-4500 • Fax (813) 664-0440gregg.jones@cardno.com

Palm Beach Gardens – March 14thBorland Center for Performing Arts

Contact Upcoming Meeting Chairs Regarding Sponsorship or Assistance

VISIT THE FLORIDA SECTION WEBSITE AT:www.awraflorida.org

the Watershed is assembled and published by Cardno ENTRIX, a proud sponsor of the Florida Section of AWRA.

Page Layout and Design by Michael B. Tyson

Ormond Beach – May 16thKey Largo – July 17th and 18thTBD – SeptemberJacksonville – November

®