FINAL HARRIS CHAIN OF LAKES RESTORATION COUNCIL SITE VISIT SUMMARY. of the. Projects Tour March 3, 2006

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1 FINAL HARRIS CHAIN OF LAKES RESTORATION COUNCIL SITE VISIT SUMMARY of the Projects Tour March 3, 2006 The regular meeting of the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council (Council) was cancelled to facilitate site visits to the Burrell Lock and Dam, Lowrie Brown Restoration Site and Lake Griffin Canal Dredging Project. Council members met at the Burrell Lock and Dam for the site visits at 8:45 AM on March 3, Members Present Skip Goerner, Chairman Hugh (Dave) Davis II, Vice Chairman Rick Powers, P.G., Secretary Keith Farner Robert Kaiser, P.E. Don Nicholson Richard Royal Member Not Present Edward M. Schlein, M.D. Ted Woodrell The Council met at the Burrell Lock and Dam to conduct site visits to the property north of the Burrell Lock and Dam, the Lowrie Brown Restoration Site and the Lake Griffin Canal Dredging Project. Below is a summary of observations made and information gained from visiting these locations. The tour consisted of boats to ferry the Council and other visitors to the various locations and airboats to provide a tour of the Lowrie Brown Restoration Area. Several members of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the Council also attended the site visits including Barbara Bess of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Bill Johnson of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), and Mike Perry of the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA). The Agenda for the site visits is provided as Attachment 1. Burrell Lock and Dam This structure was visited to observe conditions relating to alleged erosion issues of a seawall located immediately north of the spillway leading from the structure. The Burrell Lock and Dam are located on Haines Creek which runs northwest from Lake Eustis to Lake Griffin, in the Harris Chain of Lakes. The allegations were brought forth by Richard Howley who is the owner of the Spillway Park located adjacent to the north side of the spillway. Mr. Howley alleges that the water discharged during peak flows from the Burrell

2 Site Visit Summary March 3, 2006 Page 2 of 7 structure have caused erosion at the base of the seawall along his property. John Richmond of the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) had conducted a study of the sediments at the base of the seawall and concluded that hardpan material extends out approximately 4 feet from the base of the wall. Other mitigating factors include the age of the seawall, which is believed to be approximately 22 years and the design / construction of the seawall. It is Mr. Richmond s opinion that only normal erosion has occurred at the base of the seawall. Furthermore, he believes that if the seawall were properly built with horizontal supports leading inland from the wall, then perhaps the leaning and cracking noted along the wall and walkway may not have occurred at this time. While at the site a couple of the Council members used a long, aluminum pole to probe the creek bottom along the seawall. At the locations where they probed the Council members described a hard area leading out from the base of the seawall. Additionally, Councilman Bob Kaiser placed a tennis ball in the water near the western portion of Mr. Howley s property. A gentle current carried the ball back to the east in a small embayment, just north of the Burrell spillway. Mr. Richmond explained that approximately 95% of the year the spillway is operated at the flow rate observed on the day of the site visit and during the other periods of time it is operated at flows which are three to four times greater. The increased flow is necessary to lower the water levels in Lake Eustis and upstream lakes after heavy rainfall events. Councilman Kaiser suggested that extending the jetty leading downstream from the Burrell structure along the northern side may help to alleviate any additional erosion at Mr. Howley s property, which may be affected by the flowing water. Chairman Skip Goerner suggested that perhaps any erosion which has occurred along Mr. Howley s property may only have been exacerbated by water flowing through the Burrell structure and that erosion is a natural process. He suggested that the Council discuss the matter between themselves to make a decision of potential liability and arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. The Council was directed by Florida State Senator Carey Baker to review the matter negotiate an equitable arrangement with Mr. Howley as necessary. Lowrie Brown Restoration Site After boating along Haines Creek from the Burrell Lock and Dam to Lake Griffin, the Council members and other visitors arrived at the location of a pump station from the Lowrie Brown Restoration site to Lake Griffin. Access was made by transversing the levee at that location and boarding airboats. Jay Potinkas, a Project Manager with the SJRWMD provided an overview of the Lowrie Brown Restoration project. He explained that the hurricanes and storms over the previous two years have caused breaches and erosion to the levees that separate Lowrie Brown from both Lake Griffin and Haines Creek, adding that with the breaches the water levels are now about the same. He said that originally the SJRWMD had planned to conduct plantings of wetland vegetation to enhance the functioning of this marsh as a method to improve the quality of water being discharged into

3 Site Visit Summary March 3, 2006 Page 3 of 7 Lake Griffin, however the cost of lowering the water levels to allow for this vegetative planting would be prohibitive. The SJRWMD has decided to modify their plan for managing Lowrie Brown. Mr. Potinkas explained that they intend to extend breaches in the levees and open the area to boaters. The breaches they intend to improve are listed below and a copy of the Area 4 Lowrie Brown Breaching Plan handout provided during the site visit is included as Attachment 2. 1,370 breach in north-central portion of levee along Haines Creek 600 breach at northeast corner of levee along Haines Creek 2,800 breach at southeast corner of levee 1,100 breach at southwest corner of levee 680 and 600 breaches in western levee along Lake Griffin As explained by Mr. Potinkas, the material from the breached potion of the levees will be used to create a littoral shelf along the interior of the levees. This plateau-type shelf will be planted with aquatic vegetation to enhance the filtering characteristics of the marsh and provide stability in those areas. He also said that there will be two 50 wide public access areas for boats located at the 680 and 1,370 breaches. Councilman Kaiser asked if the bermed areas will prevent runoff from the pastures adjacent to the marsh. Mr. Potinkas said yes. Chairman Goerner asked if hydrilla management will be performed at the site. Mr. Potinkas again said yes and added that they plan the site to be 450 acres that will be wet or inundated with water and 75 acres that will be mostly dry. Chairman Goerner expressed his concern that hydrilla be properly managed prior to and after opening the area to boating. Chairman Goerner then asked when the last time bass counts were conducted at Lowrie Brown. Bill Johnson of the FWCC said that approximately two years ago they conducted fish counts and last Winter they conducted pesticide studies at the site. Lake Griffin Access Canal Dredging Following the airboat tour of the Lowrie Brown Restoration project, the site visit attendees were ferried by boats across Lake Griffin to observe progress of the access canal dredging. Three handouts with information and the schedule of dredging were provided to the attendees. Copies of those handouts are included as Attachment 3. On the trip across the lake a brief stop was made at one of the booster pumps that move the dredge material to the disposal area. Due to the size of the pipe and the distance to the disposal site, a booster pump is required every 7,000 to maintain flow of the dredged material. The disposal site is at a former muck farm located between lakes Griffin and Yale. Depending on the particular canal and the portion of the muck farm where the material is deposited, the distance for the material to be pumped is between five miles to twelve miles. The dredged

4 Site Visit Summary March 3, 2006 Page 4 of 7 material is being placed at locations within the disposal site that serves to cap contaminated sediments of the muck farm. Approximately 370,000 cubic yards of unconsolidated sediments are proposed to be dredged from the Lake Griffin canals. The purpose of the access canal dredging is to provide adequate boating access to property owners along the canals during periods of drawdown, when implementing the enhanced fluctuation schedule for the lake. After brief tours of two of the dredged canals, the site visit attendees were ferried by boats back across Lake Griffin and up Haines Creek to the Burrell Lock and Dam. Lunch was provided by the SJRWMD. The tour ended at 12:30 PM Photographs were taken to document observations. Respectfully submitted by: Chairman Skip Goerner Secretary Rick Powers, P.G.

5 Attachment 1 Special Agenda for Meeting 3/3/06

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7 Attachment 2 Area 4 Lowrie Brown Breaching Plan Handout SJRWMD 3/3/06

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9 Attachment 3 Lake Griffin Access Canal Dredging Handouts SJRWMD 3/3/06

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