Florida's Reuse Activities
 

Reuse has become an integral part of wastewater management, water resource management,

 and ecosystem management in Florida.

During the past 20 years, Florida has risen to be recognized as a national leader (along with

 California) in water reuse. Approximately 659 million gallons per day (mgd) of reclaimed

water was reused for beneficial purposes in 2010. This represents an average per capita

reuse of 35.08 gallons per day per person. Reusing 659 mgd of reclaimed water is estimated

to have avoided the use of over 121 billion gallons of potable quality water while serving

 to add more than 80 billion gallons back to available ground water supplies.

The total reuse capacity of Florida's domestic wastewater treatment facilities has gone from

362 mgd in 1986 to 1,562 mgd in 2010 which amounts to an increase of 331 percent! The

current reuse capacity represents about 62 percent of the total permitted domestic wastewater

treatment capacity in Florida.

Florida's Reuse

Reclaimed water from public access reuse systems was used to irrigate 281,781 residences,

525 golf courses, 877 parks, and 324 schools. Irrigation of these areas accessible to the

public represented about 55 percent of the 659 mgd of reclaimed water reused.

• For a complete summary of reuse in Florida and to see how Florida compares
•  to the rest of the United States, go to Reuse Inventory Database and Annual Report

  Lake Okeechobee

....Watershed is dominated by agricultural land uses that account for 51.2 percent of the total area

(1.7 million acres); followed by natural areas including wetlands, upland forests, and water

bodies (35.7 percent or 1.2 million acres); and urban areas (11.9 percent or ~410,000 acres), the

majority of which lie within the Upper Kissimmee and Lake Istokpoga sub-watersheds  

 ..... Although dairy farms in the northern basins cover less than

1 percent of the land use area, they represent a considerable source of phosphorus to some

tributaries and up to 5 percent of the total external loading to the lake (Bottcher 2006)...

Section 1: Introduction 1

1.1 Document Purpose ........................................................................................... 1

1.2 Physical Description of Lake Okeechobee ......................................................... 3

1.3 Land Use .......................................................................................................... 3

1.4 Lake Okeechobee Sub-Watersheds .................................................................. 6

Section 2: Overview of Lake Okeechobee Watershed Protection Programs 11

2.1 Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan .................................................................. 13

2.2 Lake Okeechobee Watershed Construction Project ........................................ 13

2.2.1 Phase I ............................................................................................... 13

2.2.2 Phase II Technical Plan ......................................................................... 13

2.3 Lake Okeechobee Watershed Phosphorus Control Program ........................... 14

2.3.1 FDACS Agricultural Programs ................................................................. 15

2.3.2 FDEP Agricultural Programs ................................................................... 15

2.3.3 FDEP Non-Agricultural Programs ............................................................ 16

2.3.4 SFWMD Source Control Programs ........................................................... 16

2.4 Lake Okeechobee Research and Water Quality Monitoring Program .............. 17

2.5 Exotic Species Control Program ..................................................................... 18

2.6 Internal Phosphorus Management Program ................................................... 18

Section 3: Current Status of Lake Okeechobee 21

3.1 Ecological Status ............................................................................................ 21

3.1.1 Water Levels ....................................................................................... 21

3.1.2 Nearshore Phosphorus and Turbidity Levels ............................................. 22

3.1.3 Algal Blooms ....................................................................................... 23

3.1.4 Littoral Vegetation ............................................................................... 24

3.1.5 Control of Exotic Vegetation .................................................................. 28

3.1.6 Benthic Invertebrate Communities ......................................................... 29

3.1.7 Amphibian and Reptile Communities ....................................................... 31

3.1.8 Fish Communities ................................................................................ 32

3.2 Current Water Quality Trends (2001-2009) ................................................... 34

3.2.1 Lake Phosphorus Reduction Goal ............................................................ 34

3.2.2 Tributary Nutrient Loading Trends .......................................................... 34

3.2.3 Inflow Phosphorus Loading Trends and In-Lake Phosphorus Concentrations .. 44

3.2.4 Lake Discharge Phosphorus Trends ......................................................... 47

Section 4: Challenges in the Watershed 51

4.1 Backgound ..................................................................................................... 51

4.2 Legacy Phosphorus ........................................................................................ 51

4.3 Annual Nutrient Imports ................................................................................ 53

4.4 In-Lake Phosphorus Loading .......................................................................... 58

4.5 Stormwater Treatment Areas in the Northern Everglades .....

 http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xrepository/sfwmd_repository_pdf/lopp_update_2011.pdf