Today, I’ll be calling attention to my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida and the surrounding counties, on down to Central Florida revealing bold greed and irresponsibility by the usual suspects; homebuilders and local governments.
An initial request to aid people in Orlando with their drinking water shortfall (brought on by rabid over-development) has revealed a ploy to get developers the water they need to irrigate lawns so they can continue to overdevelop Orlando at the expense of North East Florida residents. The next thing you know, developers will be clamoring to continue overdeveloping the Jacksonville area and we in turn will be forced to beg water to satiate our thirst from Georgia. Oh, that’s right; Atlanta is already dried up…
Here is a time line break down of the issues:
Central Fla. Officials Eye St. Johns River's Fresh Water Supply
Posted: 4:28 pm EDT September 5, 2007
Updated: 6:04 pm EDT September 5, 2007
“Many people who live along the St. Johns River wonder who would want to drink the river water. Residents in Central Florida near Orlando, where they're facing a water shortage, have the answer – ‘We do.’ Officials in Central Florida have been considering taking fresh water from the St. Johns River and a tributary near Orlando and using the water for drinking. However, some local environmentalists said they are not sure about the idea, saying taking water from the river could affect the water quality in Jacksonville…‘This is being driven by Orlando and Central Florida, and that's who is giving the marching orders. We up here better get our acts together because this is being crammed down our throats and these decisions are being made right now,’ said Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon…If the plan is approved, Central Florida could remove about 262 million gallons of water - enough water to fill 400 swimming pools - every day. The Water Management District said the water removal should not have a big impact, and that the idea is just one plan being considered.”…
Let battle over siphoning St. Johns River begin
Last modified 2/29/2008 - 6:01 pm
originally created 030208
“…With a renewed interest in the river, the St. Johns River Water Management District and Central Florida then stirred up a hornets' nest with plans to withdraw up to 260 million gallons of water a day out of the river and its main tributary, the Ocklawaha . The opposition in North Florida has been fierce. How will taking that much water out of the river affect the river's health? With that much fresh water out of the river, how will salinity levels change and how will that affect fisheries and wildlife? Why doesn't Central Florida control growth that is outstripping the ability of the Floridan aquifer to provide potable water?
Why aren't other sources of water considered instead of gambling with the river's health?...An additional 18-month to two-year scientific study was ordered to determine what the withdrawals would do to the river…And along comes Seminole County. It's asking the water management district for a permit to take 5.5 million gallons of water a day from the river - now, not after the study…the Jacksonville City Council, with the approval of Mayor John Peyton, authorized legal action to stop the permit. The St. Johns County Commission voted to join Jacksonville, and the Clay County Commission ordered staff to look at getting into the fray…Neil Armingeon, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, says the aggressive approach by local governments is something he has rarely seen in his career of environmental work. His organization also is likely to take legal action. The fear is that one permit will lead to another, which will lead to another.”…
City, Riverkeeper file legal action against water taking
03/05/2008
“Let the legal recourse begin. In response to a permit request by Seminole County that would allow the withdrawal of 5.5 million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns River to be used for irrigation, St. Johns Riverkeeper and the City of Jacksonville both filed administrative hearings to challenge the permit before a Tuesday deadline…In addition, St. Johns Riverkeeper officials announced Tuesday that along with filing an administrative hearing, the group had joined the Public Trust Environmental Law Institute of Florida to pursue other legal action that could potentially derail any future permits from being acted upon by the St. Johns River Water Management District until proper studies are completed…'We could not take the chance that the Governing Board would do the right thing and deny this permit,’ said Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon, referring to what would have been a March 11 agenda item on the permit by the District’s Governing Board…One potential attempt is a now-deferred bill sponsored by Council member Bill Bishop that was vetted during Monday’s Finance Committee meeting…The bill was ultimately deferred by the committee because it wasn’t also assigned to the Rules Committee…However, such an effort was applauded by Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon ‘We’re very appreciative of the City taking this step,’ said Armingeon. ‘We don’t trust the District’s science. We think it’s driven by politics.’”…
JUST SAY NO! No to Over-development! No to more over-development! No to draining the St Johns River! No to squandering our natural resources! No more poor to negligent representation! No to builders and developers! No to mismanagement and GREED!!