More Water News

Thanks Marsha for keeping this out front on the blogs because it is a very important issue to everyone in Florida.

I would still encourage everyone to get a book by Cynthia Barnett's "Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S."  It is an easy to understand read for anyone interested, and she has great credentials.

I saw an article in TU the other day about Delaney and the River,

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/111707/met_218348644.shtml

He talked about the presentation by SJRWM. " The river preservation group heard a presentation Friday from the St. Johns River Water Management District's executive director, Kirby Green."  

We are suppose to have one at the Workshop on Tuesday 11/20.

Should be interesting to say the least.

Kirby Green is indeed going to be there and tell us all we need to know about why the SJRWMD is thinking it's ok to convert water from the river to the developers in Central Fl.  He's probably going to explain that this is only serving Central FL, but you all know that once they start, there will be no end.  Oh and don't forget the bottling plant they are approving in an area that doesn't have enough water so they have to pipe it from the SJR.  Puleeze!!

Here is the agenda for Tuesday's meeting.  You all might want to be there or watch on TV. 

BCC WORKSHOP TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2007, 2:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL BUSINESS: 1. Presentation on water supply and surface water withdrawal issue (Kirby Green, SJRWMD) 2. Discussion on TMDL’s (Conkey) (SJRWMD) 3. Discussion on industrial lands in Clay County. (Rutledge) 4. Discussion on possible change in ordinance for acceptance of roads. (Conkey) 5. Discussion on A-87 Cost Allocation Plan (S. O’Leary) 6. Discussion on the impacts of the property tax reform referendum. (Rutledge) ADJOURNMENT

Besides Lake Lanier, Lake Okeechobee, there is Lake Superior to the north and Lake Mead to the west, probably others.  It seems strange about Superior, in contrast to the other Great Lakes.  Might a gallon of water end up more than a gallon of gas?

Or at least that's what the TV advertising claims.  Of course, pretty soon that ad campaign will be "It's My River (except for that quarter of a billion gallons a day being sucked out to appease developers in a Central Florida growth plan ill-advised enough to be have originated in Clay County)."

Hopefully, when the St. Johns River Water Management District's Mr. Green appears at the County Commission Workshop Tuesday, this idea will receive a less-than-receptive response from citizens and especially our elected officials.

Neither Mr. Green nor anyone else at SJRWMD knows what the results of that proposal will do to the river and its northern tributaries.  Until someone can convince me that there will be no adverse effects to the St. Johns, I say Mr. Green and his cronies should just proceed to Plan B (whatever the heck their Plan B is) for watering down the central part of the state.  Then we can deal with it later.

For now, it really is time for Clay County to stand up and say -  IT'S OUR RIVER.

Michael S. Mann

So many great ideas, so many facts.  Unfortunately, the one thing not considered is our own philosophy.  The way we were brought up & how we look at the problem. 

We have been brought up to look at success as attaining a nice house, a white picket  fence & a lush green yard for our children & pets to play in.  What we have not been taught is to look at what that entails as far as the cost to our wallets, the surrounding areas & the environment into the future.

That lovely, lush green lawn comes at a cost.  Fertilizers @ 3 or 4 times a year to keep it green.  Insecticides to keep the unwanted bugs out.  Where does it go?  We haven't cared that it goes down the drain, into the system & out towards the river & into the ocean.  Along the way, it affects the plant & animal life it crosses.  Meanwhile, we have never asked ourselves what better use could we make of the water. 

It is our own making that we are now finding out that we could have put the water to better use.  We should have asked ourselves another question.  For whom are we upkeeping a lush lawn?  If we were honest, we would have admitted that it was for personal vanity, keeping up with the neighbors & the possible resale value of our property.  Our philosophy was built upon a deck of cards containing jokers.  And it went on, owner after owner, until we start having some serious convesations now. Hopefully, it's not to late.

There are many sources of information out there on the blogs, in hardware stores & other places that can show us how to save our water & live with nature.  It's not to late to learn.

Joe 

I have been following the informative entries about the water diversion considered by the SJR..."WMD" and have a question maybe fellow bloggers could answer.  I understand the water district to be an independent agency.  Are the members appointed by the Governor?  Does the County have ANY power over what happens to the river following through our county?  If not, is the SJRWMD coming to the BCC to just let us know what they plan on doing whether we like it or not?  I'd appreciate any information y'all have.

You nailed it, margo.

Members of the Board are gubernatorial appointments. The Water Management Districts are taxing authorities with no accountability to the people they tax. We (the voter) cannot un-appoint them.

So yes, this what they call in the corporate world a "dog-and-pony" show. It's window dressing.

I have directed a public relations campaign against their water management practices in my neck of the woods. It can be done. But it takes one BIG concerted, organized effort to be heard.

There are five WMDs (no pun intended) in Florida.  The board members are appointed by the governor - each for 6 years, I believe.  If you go to www.sjrwmd.com you can see who the board members are (and they are not all friends of the river) and when their terms expire.

Riverkeeper (not to be confused with the SJRWMD) is a watchdog group and they are talking to many advocacy groups in NE FL, including the Clay Action Network.  Riverkeeper is very much against the diversion of the SJRiver and is working diligently to prevent it.  To find out more, you can go to the website and read the newsletters and other information.  www.riverkeeper.org

Tomorrow's BCC meeting might be interesting. 

We do need to start conserving now.  There are many ways without changing our lifestyles - low flow showerheads (and shorter showers), toilets that use less water, get rid of St. Augustine and other needy grasses and use groundcovers that do not require water, install rainbarrels, use grey water for plant watering, on and on.  It's painless and becomes habitual in no time.  You don't have to do it all at once, but we really need to be quick about it.

OK - I'll stand down from my soapbox now.