The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will hold an independent, scientific peer review of recommended minimum flows for Horse Creek and Charlie Creek beginning this month. Horse Creek and Charlie Creek are located in portions of DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties and are two tributaries of the Peace River.
A minimum flow sets a limit on how much water can be withdrawn from various water resources to prevent significant harm occurring to those resources or the ecology of the area. The review will be conducted by a three-member panel virtually via Microsoft Teams, teleconference and a web board established specifically for the peer review.
The meetings will take place:
- July 17 at 12:30 p.m.
- July 24 at 1 p.m.
- July 31 at 1 p.m.
- Aug. 7 at 1 p.m.
- Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.
- Oct. 2 at 1 p.m.
Members of the public can join the meetings virtually and register to use the web board to post comments regarding the peer review process. Links to the Teams meetings can be found on the District’s Boards, Meetings and Events calendar at WaterMatters.org/calendar. The web board will be open for posting comments through Oct. 9, 2023, and open for viewing through June 30, 2024.
The draft documents on the scientific peer review to be considered by the panel will be made available on the District’s website at WaterMatters.org/documents-and-reports. Based on findings of the peer review panel, District staff anticipate using the scientific peer review to support development of minimum flows that will be recommended to the District’s Governing Board for rule adoption to support water use regulation and water supply planning.