The Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Polk County for the Lake Hancock Lake Level Modification Project. Polk County is scheduled to consider the MOA on Aug. 9.
The MOA outlines what each party is responsible for and addresses the county’s North Central landfill. The county’s North Central landfill is located near the Lake Hancock Project. It was originally permitted in 1974. The life expectancy of the facility is another 70 years from the date of the MOA. The MOA provides a mechanism to deal with any problems that may arise at the county landfill as a result of the project
Approving the agreement will allow the District to submit a conceptual Environmental Resource Permit application to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the project. If DEP grants the permit, the proposed project will go back before the Governing Board for approval.
The goal of the Lake Level Modification Project is to store water by raising the lake level on Lake Hancock and to slowly release the water during the dry season to help meet the minimum flow requirements in the upper Peace River between Bartow and Zolfo Springs. The lake, which is currently 98.5 feet above sea level, was historically two feet higher. The District determined the potential benefits and impacts of raising the lake up to 100.5 feet above sea level. The project proposal calls for raising the lake to 100 feet.
This project is one of a series of water resource development projects and is a major element of the District’s recovery strategy for the upper Peace River. Lake Hancock is a 4,500-acre lake in the headwaters of the Peace River watershed that extends 120 miles down river to Charlotte Harbor, an estuary of national significance.
As part of the recovery strategy, the District developed minimum flows for the upper Peace River. A minimum flow is the limit where further withdrawals will cause significant harm to the water resources of the area and the related natural environment. Currently, the upper Peace River from Bartow to Zolfo Springs is often not achieving the proposed minimum flows. The District’s upper Peace River recovery strategy is intended to restore minimum flows.
The Lake Hancock projects are expected to be complete in 2010. For more information about the projects, visit the District’s web site at www.WaterMatters.org.