The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Peace River Basin Board and the City of Punta Gorda are among the stakeholders who signed a plan today that will improve water quality in the Shell Creek and Prairie Creek watersheds, Punta Gorda’s primary water supply source.
By signing the Shell CreekPrairie Creek Watershed Management Plan, stakeholders of diverse interests are coming together to join forces and work to address water quality issues in a collaborative, supportive community-oriented manner. Stakeholders include several government agencies, the City of Punta Gorda, citrus growers and agricultural organizations.
In recent years, the reservoir sustained by the two creeks has seen a decline in water quality because of an influx of highly mineralized ground water from agricultural operations within the watershed. The decline became much more pronounced during the prolonged drought of 1999-2001 as rainfall decreased and agricultural irrigation increased.
The plan focuses on total watershed management, while specifically highlighting the areas of the watershed with impaired water quality. Some of the specific management actions in the plan include:
The District’s Shell, Prairie, and Joshua Creek well back plugging program, which identifies poor water quality wells and plugs them, leaving the good water quality wells open.
The District and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) program. The FARMS program is a public/private partnership program designed to assist the agricultural community with implementing water-conserving irrigation systems or other best
management practices (BMPs) to reduce water usage and improve water quality.
The federal National Resource Conservation Service – Environmental Quality Improvement Program. This federal program works with growers to develop and implement BMPs.
The FDACS Peace River Valley/Manasota Area Citrus Best Management Practices Manual
The District’s Quality of Water Improvement Program, which properly closes abandoned wells.
The Shell CreekPrairie Creek Watershed Management Plan is available on the District’s web site.