The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors approved a pilot project Wednesday for drainage use on the Moss property owned by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. It could be a key step toward better drainage in The Acreage.
The project has been under consideration for several years, initiated by resident and unsuccessful ITID candidate Alan Ballweg, and carried forward by Supervisor Gary Dunkley, who was elected to the board on a platform of improving drainage after flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac.
The approval authorizes ITID staff to proceed with the purchase of a portable 50-cubic-foot-per-second pump and necessary facilities, as well as data recorders within the Moss property required to comply with a Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit.
The project garnered numerous letters of support from agencies that have interest in the project. Supporters note that the Moss property is in need of rehydration, and is cut off from other possible water suppliers.
ITID Engineer Jay Foy explained that the 2,300-acre Moss property is a drainage easement located at the southwest corner of the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, but neither the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, which owns both Corbett and Moss, or the South Florida Water Management District, have legal access to the Moss property and need a permit from ITID.
“The Moss property is badly in need of water,” Foy said, adding that the district has obtained a permit to set up the pilot project. “There is no place where there is much water on the Moss property but for a small area in the dry season and a small area at the end of the wet season. They are in need of water tremendously. We have water, and we can give it to them. It would be the beginning of a possible relationship between us, whether we rehydrate the Moss property, and we have an additional outfall.”
As a condition of the permit, Foy said, the FWCC wants three monitoring locations for the water levels so it would have an idea of the effect water discharge would have. Monitoring the water quality is also required.
“You can’t just dump bad water on good wetlands, so we will have to monitor when there is water in the wetlands and show them that the water quality is good,” Foy said. “As you know from the past several decades of water quality monitoring, we have some of the best water in the county… It’s about as good as you can get other than rainwater.”
The estimated cost for the pilot project is about $400,000, which includes a new pump.
“You have in your budget $100,000 for a used one,” he said. “The new one costs about $220,000. We’re asking for authorization of the full $400,000 to fund this so that in case we have to get a new pump, it would be used.
Foy repeated that this is the first step in getting a much larger agreement to help ITID solve its drainage problems.
Dunkley thanked Foy and attorney Ruth Clements, who worked on agreements with the SFWMD, for their work seeing the pilot project through.
“Everyone supports this project,” Dunkley said. “I thank you for your leadership.”
He also thanked Ballweg for assisting him in writing letters to environmentalists.
“This is only the beginning,” Dunkley said. “We’ve got our foot in the door. We’re still going to flood, but the ridiculous time of staying in my home for three weeks should not occur.”
ITID President Carol Jacobs asked whether the project would require more district staff, and Foy said the data would need to be retrieved once a month and the water quality testing would be by a water quality lab.
“It’s not an employee-intensive program,” he said. “They would need to make sure that the pump is working.”
Dunkley made a motion to approve the project, which carried 5-0.
ABOVE: The Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors.
