Lake Okeechobee Protection Program
What's going on with our Lake?
UF/IFAS Extension has been very active in efforts to understand how nutrients
and water are interacting, and how they can best be managed. Here's
a summary of efforts underway:
The Lake Okeechobee Protection Program (Chapter00-130, Laws
of Florida) was passed by the 2000 Florida Legislature.
This Act committed the State of Florida to restore and protect Lake
Okeechobee. It specified that the
program be implemented through a cooperative effort by the South Florida Water
Management District (SFWMD), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services (FDACS) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Other agencies that were invited to cooperate in the protection of Lake Okeechobee include:
As one of these partners in this effort, IFAS has many researchers and Extension people initiating several research/ demonstration projects and educational programs to assist. Some of these projects are basic science to gather the detailed information used in later work to develop practical solutions. Some, on the other hand, are on the ground, practical projects which will be used to educate producers and evaluate the effectiveness of practices.
Some examples of IFAS efforts include:
Demonstration of
Water Quality Best Management Practices for Beef Cattle Ranching in the Lake
Okeechobee Basin: The goal of
this project is to implement on-ranch demonstrations of the Cow-Calf BMPs that
appear most promising for ranches in the basin, and to evaluate the change in P
load to surface waters and groundwater resulting from implementing these
practices. After installation, each
site will be monitored for water quality for a year before and changes are made
to determine a base level. Monitoring
began in March ’05. This
demonstration includes such things as: fencing, alternative water sources, nutrient and water
management, and soil amendments.
Click here for link to updated research report from UF/IFAS Water Institute.
Optimization of Low-Cost Phosphorus Removal from Agricultural Wastewater Using Co-Treatments with Constructed Wetlands: This project is experimenting with the use of drinking water system residuals in combination with constructed wetlands to determine their efficacy in reducing P in runoff. The preliminary data suggests the potential for the successful application of these systems, with some design elements modified to match particular wastewaters. The use of co-treatments containing inexpensive, non-toxic, and reusable by-products, such as these drinking water treatment residuals, has potential for increasing the sustainability of P removal by constructed wetland for animal waste treatment.
Phosphorus Retention
and Storage by Isolated and Constructed Wetlands in the Okeechobee Drainage
Basin:
With about 18% of the
landscape in the basin consisting of isolated wetlands, understanding their role
in P storage is critical to long-term effort to reduce P loading into the Lake.
This project’s objectives are to:
Demonstrate and determine the efficacy of isolated wetlands on phosphorus
assimilation and storage, to design and optimize on farm or edge-of-farm field
treatment wetlands to maximize P removal performance, and to use this data to
perfect and make more accurate, computer models used to predict how well a
proposed system will function, and to communicate the findings to dairy and beef
producers offering help in reducing their P runoff.
Implementation and
Grower Evaluation of a Web-based Nutrient Management Plan Support System for
Florida Crops: This effort is
primarily aimed at assisting the crop producer (specifically citrus initially).
Historically, research and therefore nutrient recommendations have been
focused on maximizing yield and/or net profit.
Today, a more precise crop nutrient recommendation based on specific
production practices, environmental constraints, and specific production
conditions is needed. The goal of
this project is to develop a web-based programming shell and user interface that
will encompass the following components: an
overview of pertinent BMP guidelines, an in-season irrigation and fertilizer
management tool with site and crop-specific information on optimal management
strategies for specific climatic conditions and a grove management tool that can
facilitate the planning of cultural practices and allocation of equipment and
labor.
Development of a Reflectance Spectroscopic P-Sensor for Terrestrial Ecosystem in the Lake Okeechobee Drainage Basin. Currently, the concentration of P in soil and water is determined through very time consuming, costly and labor intensive lab analysis. The objective of the study is to develop a technique for cost-effective P detection using reflectance providing real-time sensing ability for identifying problem areas (hot spots) and better assess the effectiveness of BMPs.
Training Program on
Nutrient Management Planning: This
program provides training for certification of Technical Service Providers
in Nutrient Management and Land Treatment Practices.
It is an educational program dealing with the rationale, concepts, and
particulars of nutrient management targeted to farmer, ranchers, agency
officials, decision makers, which enables them to make informed decisions about
nutrient budgeting and management. To
date, 103 individuals have been certified.
Wetland Enhancement
Decision Making Tools: This is
also an educational effort to assist landowner in understanding all of the
cost-shared incentive programs that include wetland enhancement, it will also
help landowners determine which program fits or complements their BMP program.
In the next three years, the program will develop:
A wetland enhancement matrix-formatted chart, listing attributes of each
cost share program, a wetland enhancement presentation, a printed booklet
Dichotomous Key, a pocket record book and BMP guide, newsletters, news articles
and other forms of educational information, a wetland enhancement computerized
interactive decision program and a wetland enhancement website for searching
further information.
Crop Phytoremediation
of Phosphorus-Enriched Soils in the Lake Okeechobee Region:
The purpose of this project is to determine the capacity of Limpo, Star
and Bahia grass to mine soil-P and quantify potential P accumulation rates by
these crops as affected by N rate and crop management practices.
It is hoped this will lead to guidelines as to which crops and/or
management practices are most effective in removing P from high P soils.
In other words, how much P can these grasses remove from site when
managed to maximize the P removal.
Quantifying
the Phosphorus Reduction From Typical South Florida Pastures Through Export of
Sod. Removing sod from
bahiagrass pastures for landscape purposes has been a long-standing source of
alternative income for south Florida cattle producers.
As this sod is typically transported outside Lake Okeechobee basin,
determining the Phosphorus content of pasture produced bahiagrass sod can
ultimately assist the producer in his effort to achieve nutrient balance.
Early results have indicated this will be a significant contribution to
Phosphorus export.
Feel free to contact our office to learn more about these ongoing efforts to protect Lake Okeechobee.
Pat Hogue or O. Patrick Miller, (863) 763-6469
The Florida Cooperative
Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal
opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research,
educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that
function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida
Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida.
Last update: 06/16/2008
. This page is maintained by
Dan
Culbert