At your March meeting, Warren Zwanka took issue with well permit numbers that had been cited in a Gainesville Sun opinion column by Bob Knight of the Florida Springs Institute. The Alliance had obtained those numbers from Mr. Zwanka via a public records request. Knight’s op-ed was distributed to you at your February meeting by Jim Tatum and Mike Roth of Our Santa Fe River.
You should know that the numbers Knight cited included wells outside the Ichetucknee basin or springshed because we know that withdrawals outside the springshed can affect flows in the Ichetucknee. One prime example of this is the effect that water use in the St. Johns River Water Management District has on water levels here in the Suwannee River Water Management District. This effect has been widely and formally acknowledged by both districts and by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
But I am not here to argue numbers with Mr. Zwanka because the Alliance believes there are larger issues here that are being ignored or glossed over, not only in this district but also statewide.
Long-term trends are the first of those issues—long-term trends in declining spring flows, increasing nitrate pollution, and falling groundwater levels. We have been fortunate recently with the amounts of rain we’ve gotten, but the Alliance is concerned that none of these long-term trends bodes well for the future of our water security, our health, and our economy.
The second issue that the Alliance is concerned about is that the cumulative impact of the numbers of well permits issued is being masked. We know that this district relies on a water model to calculate such effects, and we remind you that water models are only approximations of reality, not reality itself.
Bob Knight, who serves on the Alliance’s advisory board, had some interesting things to say about cumulative impacts in an email he sent to me. I quote:
The effects of pumping from the Floridan Aquifer are regional and cover the entire network of conduits and springs. That is why a responsible water manager would realize that additional wells anywhere in their District will further harm flows in the Santa Fe system.
The importance of cumulative impacts was also stressed to me in an email I received from Bob Palmer, another member of the Alliance’s advisory board. I quote: I spent several hours with Mr. Zwanka 2-3 years ago going over Warren’s calculations and his rationales. He admitted to me that EVERY well in the District has some impact on the Santa Fe/Ich springsheds and MFLs. …. Of course, the District categorizes these impacts as de minimis and discounts them, even though they may cumulatively add up to something quite significant.
Finally, geologist Jim Gross, a member of the Alliance’s advisory board and former employee of the St. Johns Water Management District, has told me that: In this area of Florida, every drop of water we use is one less drop for our springs and rivers.
The third issue relates to what the District is and is not able to do in regard to restricting the issuance of well permits. In an email to Mike Roth of Our Santa Fe River, Warren Zwanka wrote: The District is statutorily prevented from regulating the domestic use of water pursuant to section 373.219, F.S.
Alliance Advisory Board Member Bob Ulanowicz emailed me in response to that point. I quote:
The Florida statute that one cannot stop residential wells is a reflection of the prevailing Florida mindset that all Florida resources are infinite and that NOTHING can stand in the way of, or slow down, residential growth. This is NOT true in other states, where significant developments have been squelched due to lack of water supply. I recall several instances when developments in Maryland were stopped due to lack of water.
The misconception is a reflection of the incredible political power wielded by developers in our State. It will eventually choke us!
This last point is key. As the population of the Springs Heartland continues to grow, and as agricultural water use continues to increase per projections, this District is faced with the need to make choices. Will you continue to believe the myth that there is enough water for everyone for all time? Or will you realize that myth will lead, eventually, to irreparable damage not only to our springs but also to our drinking water, our irrigation water and our economy? Will you find the courage to face this problem honestly and in good faith with your stakeholders and with other state agencies? Will you realize that we must either limit water use or retreat into a mindset that is powerless to avoid the consequences of dead springs, saltwater intrusion, and dry land farming?
I do not believe this district is powerless—far from it. If indeed you feel that you are legally hamstrung by not being able to restrict water usage, I urge you to work with your legal counsel, your stakeholders, your elected representatives, the Florida Departments of Health, Agriculture & Consumer Services and Environmental Protection and our new governor to find new, creative ways to safeguard the water security of Florida’s Springs Heartland—for your businesses, for your farms, for our drinking water and for the living natural systems that we all know and love.
I believe that many if not all of you want to retain the rural character and beauty that finds its expression in the freshwater springs and living landscapes we cherish here in North Florida. To save these priceless gifts, we all need to change the ways we are using water—we need to change our culture. The Alliance believes that those of you on the board and staff of the Suwannee River Water Management District have a remarkable opportunity, for what may be a very short time, to be leaders in that effort.
There is one more thing for you to think about. Eventually, we will have another drought. I think we all remember what the Santa Fe River looked like, covered with mats of algae, in the last bad drought. Considering that “conservative” and “conservation” share the same root word: We should be managing our water use conservatively, the same way we would manage a financial trust fund for our children. To do so, we should rely on the Precautionary Principle: In situations where there is scientific disagreement about a course of action, we should choose the action that is least likely to cause harm.
The Alliance asks you to consider the “big picture” and the points raised in this statement as you go forward with your important work.
I’ll close with a quote from one of my favorite writers, Wendell Berry, who is also a farmer on land that his family has owned for generations in Kentucky: We don’t have the right to ask whether we will succeed. We must just do the right thing.
Thank you.